Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Sunday visited a hospital in Amritsar to meet pilgrims injured in the collision between two buses of the Mukh Mantri Tirath Yatra Scheme near Naushehra Pannuan in Tarn Taran district, and announced financial assistance of ₹5 lakh each for the families of those killed and ₹1 lakh for every injured person, Yes Punjab News reported. He also assured free medical treatment and directed the hospital authorities to provide the best possible care to all those injured.

Source: Yes Punjab News via TezzBuzz, Nov 15, 2026

In a message posted on X, the Chief Minister said most of the injured were out of danger and were expected to recover, Nation Press reported. He extended condolences to the bereaved families and assured them that the state government would stand by them during this difficult period, and said the civil and police administrations had been instructed to provide every possible assistance to the affected families.

Source: Nation Press, Nov 15, 2026

The crash, a day earlier

Five people were killed on Saturday when the two Punjab government pilgrimage buses collided head-on on National Highway-54 near Naushera Pannuan. According to Yes Punjab News, the dead included four pilgrims and a motorcyclist. Mann put the number of injured at 11; casualty counts varied in Saturday's early official reporting, which had put the injured higher, and the injured have been under treatment in Amritsar and at Tarn Taran Civil Hospital, as Awaaz Punjab reported in its earlier coverage.

Mann on the scheme, and an appeal

Highlighting the reach of the Mukh Mantri Tirath Yatra Scheme, Mann said — in his statement as reported by Yes Punjab News — that more than seven lakh pilgrims had benefited from the initiative through over 17,000 trips to religious destinations including Amritsar, Khatu Shyam and Mathura, that more than 70 buses operate daily under the scheme carrying over 3,000 devotees every day, and that such an unfortunate incident had not occurred during the journeys undertaken under the programme.

Appealing to opposition parties not to politicise the tragedy, the Chief Minister said accidents should not be turned into political controversies, and reiterated that the government remained committed to public safety. He also highlighted the role of Punjab's Sadak Surakhya Force (SSF), saying its prompt emergency response had helped reduce accidents and save lives across the state.

What happens next: the announced assistance has to reach the five bereaved families and the injured, and the bus-safety questions around the scheme remain before the National Human Rights Commission, which has summoned Punjab's Chief Secretary in the same matter, with a December 7 appearance directed in its proceedings, as reported earlier today.