MLA Jagdish Sahni sought adequate compensation from the government for the relatives of the 11 deceased in yesterday’s mishap in Gurdaspur. He said, “I am the owner of the bus, but I am not the culprit. It’s unfair of Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira to claim that Sahni’s bus killed people.”

Transport Minister Master Mohan Lal said a Road Safety Council would be set up in Punjab and a Bill introduced in the Assembly. The Council would give Rs 2 lakh compensation to the relatives of the deceased. He said two driving schools at Kapurthala and Muktsar were also being set up to train drivers.

However, Congress MLA Khaira said there was a need to look beyond compensation. PWD Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa said the state government was identifying accident-prone areas and spending Rs 5 crore to provide safety equipment to the traffic police.