NEW DELHI, Oct. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- The Central government has announced an ad-hoc 23 million US dollar financial assistance to the earthquake hit Indian-controlled Kashmir, where 300 people including 36 army soldiers have died.

    The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting which took place under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh late Saturday evening, according to local daily Times of India Sunday.

    Indian-controlled Kashmir is reeling under the impact of the 7.6 magnitude earthquake which hit the South Asia region Saturday morning.

    The epicenter of the earthquake, which lasted some four-and-a-half minutes and measured 7.6 on the Richter scale, lay in Muzaffarabad, 95 km north of Islamabad in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and 115 km northwest of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. Enditem¡¡