Many injured in north Bengal, power supply disrupted.

North Bengal Affairs Minister Gautam Deb said the quake triggered landslides in Kalimpong and Kurseong sub-divisions while several patients in a nursing home in Siliguri sub-division of Darjeeling district were injured. Many people were injured, power supply was disrupted in parts of northern West Bengal and houses developed cracks as a powerul quake, epicentred in adjoining Sikkim, rocked the region Sunday evening. 'One sub-station has been affected in Siliguri, disrupting power supply. Most of the areas of north Bengal, including Darjeeling district, have been lashed by overnight rains. After the quake, situation has deteriorated with landslides in Kalimpong and Kurseong,' Deb said. 'The impact was more in Cooch Behar district. Jalpaiguri district has also been hit,' he said shortly after an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale with its epicentre near the Sikkim-Nepal border hit the state Sunday evening,The Darjeeling district magistrate has been asked to go to the spot to see the situation first hand, the chief minister said. 'The DM of Darjeeling is already on the field assessing the situation but he may not be able to assess the whole situation right now as it is very dark out there. As Darjeeling and Kalimpong are close to the epicentre, that's why it is a bit affected as per initial reports,' Banerjee said.'But there is nothing to panic. The administration is on high alert,' she said. She said she could not contact officials of Jalpaiguri district.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that as per initial reports, power supply has been disrupted in areas near Sikkim like Kalimpong of Darjeeling district, and adjoining Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts. 
'Some houses may have developed cracks in the hills, but we are still awaiting confirmation. We are constantly monitoring the situation. If anybody is trapped, then we should all work together to rescue such people. We will help each other,' she said.
The chief minister said an emergency helpline (03322145486) has been started at the director general of police control room at the state secretariat, Writers' Buildings, in Kolkata.
Weather officials warned of more landslides in the Darjeeling hills following heavy rains.
Panic gripped Kolkata, where Durga Puja shopping was at its peak.'It was very frightful. I never had such an experience. There was an announcement on the public address system to evacuate the floor. I and my sons managed to come out fast. But there was lot of commotion at the exit gate,' said a man in his late 30s who had come to a shopping mall with his two sons.
'Due to heavy rainfall in Darjeeling hills, there are chances of landslides following the earthquake. There may also be aftershocks,' said G.C. Debnath, director of Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata.
Shopping malls were evacuated, people rushed to the streets, and the superstitious people blew conches to ward off evil spirit.

Severe earthquake rocks Sikkim, 20 killed.

 An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the richter scale hit North India on Sunday and the epicentre was 64 km from Gangtok in Sikkim at 6:10 pm, causing damages in the area. Mild tremors were felt in Delhi and other parts of North India. Tremors were felt in Patna, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal also.

Reports said that tremors were felt for almost 30 seconds. People in most parts of North and East India rushed out of their homes in panic.

Aftershocks measuring 6.1 and 5.3 on the richter scale were also felt around Sikkim 20 minutes after the earthquake.

Speaking to CNN-IBN, the DGP of Sikkim said that many buildings were damaged. He also said that roads were blocked and people were stranded on roads. He said that the Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling has called for an emergency meeting.

Arvind Kumar, Principal Resident Commissioner of Sikkim said that there was excessive damage in the northern parts of Sikkim. He also said that the rescue operations had started in the area.

The Chief Secretary of Sikkim Karma Gyatso said that there were reports suggesting that one child succumbed to injuries after the earthquake.

There were intermittent power outages.

There were also reports of landslides following the earthquake in areas around Sikkim and also Darjeeling.

The Prime Minister also spoke to the Sikkim Chief Minister and offered all help. The Prime Minister also directed the Cabinet Secretary to call for an emergency meeting.

There were reports of damages from Bihar. Two buildings collapsed in Katihar in Bihar. The NTPC power plant in Kahalgaon in Bihar has also been shut down because of the earthquake following which North Bihar was under power crisis. One person reportedly died in Bihar in a stampede following the Earthquake.

Chief Election Commissioner SY Qureshi who was staying in a hotel in Bhutan said that there were minor cracks in the hotel.

RS Dattatreya, Director, Seismology in the Met Department said that there were possibility of aftershocks only in the area around the epicentre.