Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu will lay the foundation stone for the construction of the the visa-free corridor from the Indian side to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan on November 26.
The Union Cabinet recently approved a proposal to build the corridor. Pakistan accepted New Delhi’s request to open the corridor ahead of Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary in November 2019.
The corridor will extend from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district in Punjab to the International Border with Pakistan. The shrine is located on the banks of the Ravi at Kartarpur in Narowal district of Pakistan Punjab, 3 km from the border.
Four-lane stretch
The four-lane corridor will be funded by the Centre and developed by the National Highways Authority of India, according to a statement from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Saturday. The corridor would allow pilgrims to visit the shrine “throughout the year”, it said.
Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Punjab CM Capt. Amarinder Singh will be present on the occasion.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to perform the ground-breaking ceremony for construction work on its side on November 28.