Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday embarked on a 250km road journey to Raxaul on the India-Nepal border to inspect the relief operations for the earthquake victims because of inclement weather in Patna.

Nitish was scheduled to leave for Raxaul by a helicopter at 1pm.

A sudden gush of high velocity wind accompanied by rain lashed the city and adjoining areas around the time when he was supposed to board the chopper.

The inclement weather failed to dampen Nitish's spirit to oversee the rescue operations and he proceeded by road. He reached Raxaul around 8.30pm and appealed to the people to volunteer their service in the relief and rescue of the quake-hit, both in Bihar and Nepal.

"Humanity demands that we should collectively stand up to help out the people in distress in the hours of crisis," he said.

Before leaving for Raxaul, the chief minister dispatched 32 buses to Kathmandu to ferry the quake-hit people to Raxaul and then to their respective destinations in the state.

The harsh weather in Patna and adjoining areas did not affect the relief work much because its intensity was relatively low in East Champaran and West Champaran districts, bordering Nepal. The water resources minister, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, who has been made the in-charge of the relief work in East Champaran, said the government and relief agencies were working with the victims in a "satisfactory manner".

The toll in the quake that rocked the state, particularly its north-eastern districts bordering Nepal, has climbed to 58.

Life in the state on Tuesday showed signs of limping back to normal with no major aftershock. The administration ordered resumption of classes in schools, closed for two days because of tremors.

Officer removed

The government on Tuesday removed senior IAS officer Shashi Shekhar Sharma from the ongoing quake relief operations in Raxaul for the victims of Indian origin in Nepal and asked him to return to the headquarters in Patna.

Sharma, an officer of the 1985 batch, is currently holding the post of principal secretary in the transport department. He has been shifted to general administration department and kept in waiting for posting.

A source said the chief minister was unhappy with his work as the head of the transport department. Sharma was deployed at Raxaul on the India-Nepal border in East Champaran to monitor the transportation of the quake victims from Nepal to India. The government had reportedly asked him to ensure the dispatch of buses on time from Raxaul to Kathmandu and Pokhra, the two worst-affected areas.

The action against Sharma was initiated after a few victims complained of inadequate transportation facilities. The chief minister took a serious exception to the complaint in Raxaul and decided to remove him from the ongoing relief operations.