Lahore: Pakistan will allot 42 acres of land for the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur according to an announcement of the Punjab Governor, the media reported here Wednesday. He also indicated that 80 per cent of the work on the landmark Kartarpur Corridor has been completed.
The corridor will connect Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district and facilitate visa free movement of Indian Sikh pilgrims. They will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which was established in 1522 by Sikh faith founder Guru Nanak Dev.
Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar announced Tuesday increasing the land allotted for Gurdwara Darbar Sahib from three acres to 42 acres. He also said that any kind of construction will not be done on the land, which will remain under cultivation, ‘The News’ reported.
“We want to convey this message to the Sikh brethren living all over the world that there will be no cut in land for Gurdawara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur and Guru Nanak, rather 42 acres land has been allocated for Gurdawara Darbar Sahib and 62 acres for cultivation,” Sarwar said during his visit to the corridor to review the pace of work on the project. “In this way, total land for Gurdawara Darbar Sahib will be 104 acres,” added Sarwar.
The governor, who also heads the committee for religious tourism and heritage, said the total land for Kartarpur Corridor will be 408 acres. He informed that 80 per cent of the work on the Kartarpur Corridor has been completed as per vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He hoped that it would be completed before the 550 birth celebrations of Guru Nanak this year. He also said that the Pakistan government is optimistic that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the inaugural ceremony of Kartarpur Corridor, the report added.
Sarwar also said that special transport arrangements would be provided from the check point to Darbar Sahib to the Indian Sikh pilgrims visiting this holy place. He informed construction of three ‘langar Khanas’ was under way at Darbar Sahib where Sikh pilgrims would be provided quality meal and other facilities, the report added.
The report also said that the pilgrims coming from India would have to return back from Kartarpur in the time allotted to them and the ones coming from the UK, the US and other countries on valid visas would be granted permission to stay and houses are being built for them.
Pakistan is building the corridor from the Indian border to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib while the other part from Dera Baba Nanak up to the border will be constructed by India.
The Darbar Sahib the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev is located in Pakistan’s Narowal district across the river Ravi, about four kilometres from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine.
PTI