After border setback, fresh batch of Haryana Sikh pilgrims depart for Pakistan
The group was flagged off from the historic Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi in Kurukshetra by Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) president Jagdish Singh Jhinda.
The group was flagged off from the historic Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi in Kurukshetra by Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) president Jagdish Singh Jhinda.
The Home Ministry has said that due to the prevailing security scenario with Pakistan, it would not be possible to send Sikh pilgrims Jathas to Kartarpur Sahib and Nankana Sahib in November this year.
Punjab’s Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Dalwinderjit Singh told the media that the corridor will be shut for the day.
The Kartarpur Corridor, connecting the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan to Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district, is set to reopen for pilgrims on Tuesday as the flood-situation eased near the India-Pakistan border.
The reopening of Kartarpur will assist thousands of devotees, largely Sikhs, to visit the final resting place of Guru Nanak in Pakistan.
The government sources further told that the PM will address the public gathering around three kms away from the corridor.
Construction of the 4.2 km-long Kartarpur corridor is targeted to be completed by October 31, a week before the celebrations to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
India had asked Pakistan to reconsider the decision on charging $20 per pilgrim, allow 10,000 pilgrims on special occasions and an Indian protocol officer to accompany the delegation that visits Kartarpur every day.
The much-awaited corridor will facilitate visa-free movement of Indian pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib.
In a stinging attack on the opposition, the PM said that the Congress and the parties affiliated to its culture never respected the 'Indian culture'.
