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Bathinda bus tragedy: Families end protest after receiving compensation
The aggrieved families, supported by Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), had initially refused to cremate the victims until the Punjab government announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh and a government job for each family
Two days after the Bathinda bus accident that claimed eight lives and left 26 injured, the grieving families ended their protest on Sunday and agreed to perform the last rites of the deceased after Bathinda’s additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Poonam Singh handed over cheques for ₹3 lakh as compensation to them.
The families had been protesting at the Talwandi Sabo Civil Hospital, where five bodies were kept in the mortuary after the accident. On December 27, the bus had plunged into a drain killing eight persons and injuring several passengers.
The aggrieved families, supported by Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan), had initially refused to cremate the victims until the Punjab government announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh and a government job for each family.
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann had earlier announced an ex-gratia of ₹3 lakh per family. However, the families insisted that the cheques be handed over in person before they conducted the final rites.
ADC Poonam Singh said that the compensation amount had been distributed to the families of three victims from Bathinda. “For the deceased belonging to Fazilka, Mansa, Sirsa, and Bihar, compensation will be handed over by the deputy commissioner offices of their respective districts following the protocol,” she added.
Of the 26 injured in the accident, 22 victims were discharged within 24 hours. Four victims remain under treatment at different facilities, including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bathinda, Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital, and two others at a private hospital.
ADC Singh said that three of the four patients are likely to be discharged in the next couple of days, while a Bihar native with fractured ribs continues to receive treatment at AIIMS.
“As per the directions of the chief minister, the cost of treatment of all victims will be borne by the state,” she added.
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured.
Talwandi Sabo subdivisional magistrate (SDM) Harjnder Jassal said the autopsy of the five bodies were kept at the civil hospital was underway. “The protest has been called off after they were given the compensation,” he added.
The ADC also said that Good Samaritan Mahasha Singh from Jiwan Singhwala village in Bathinda will be feliciated at the district-level Republic Day event next month for his role in rescuing passengers from the submerged bus.
