Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Jattvibeday announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of each of the five people killed in a head-on collision between two buses operating under the Mukh Mantri Tirath Yatra Bus Yojana in Tarn Taran on Saturday. He also announced compensation of Rs 1 lakh each for the 11 injured.Mann visited the government-run Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, where the injured are undergoing treatment, and spent around 45 minutes taking stock of their condition. He announced that the state government would bear the entire cost of their medical treatment.Responding to a media query, the Chief Minister ruled out an investigation into the accident or a review of the management of buses operating under the scheme, maintaining that it was a road accident.He explained that a two-wheeler rider suddenly changed direction on the road, prompting one of the bus drivers to make a sharp turn to avoid hitting the rider. However, another bus under the Mukh Mantri Tirath Yatra scheme was approaching from the opposite direction, resulting in a head-on collision.The accident claimed the lives of four pilgrims and a woman riding a motorcycle, while 11 others sustained injuries.Mann said he had taken stock of the injured passengers’ medical condition and found that several had suffered head injuries and fractures. However, doctors treating them informed him that all the injured were out of danger.Defending the management of buses under the pilgrimage scheme, Mann said its arrangements were functioning smoothly, with more than 3,000 pilgrims travelling daily in 70 buses.He added that over seven lakh devotees had completed their pilgrimages through the scheme across 17,000 trips made by these buses. Mann also pointed out that no such accident had occurred earlier.