Kartarpur Sahib corridor to be reopened from Wednesday

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday announced reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara corridor starting Wednesday, days ahead of Gurupurab, the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, on November 19.
Home minister Amit Shah took to Twitter to announce the government’s decision to resume movement of devotees through the corridor leading to Kartarpur Sahib in Narowal, Pakistan, saying that the decision would benefit a large number of Sikh pilgrims.
“This decision reflects the immense reverence of Modi government towards Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji and our Sikh community…The nation is all set to celebrate the Prakash Utsav of Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji on 19thof November and I am sure that Narendra Modi government’s decision to reopen the Kartarpur Sahib corridor will further boost the joy and happiness across the country,” Shah tweeted.
The Kartarpur corridor was shut in March 2020, barely four months after it was inaugurated, in view of Covid-19 outbreak.
BJP MPs had on Sunday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to request reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor. Even the Pakistan government had last week urged India to allow devotees to visit the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara ahead of the Prakash Utsav celebration.
Senior politicians from Punjab including former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu too had on Twitter urged the government of India to reopen the Kartarpur Corridor in view before Gurpurab.
Kartarpur corridor, called a “peace corridor” between India and Pakistan, had seen around 45,000 pilgrims travel through it between November 2019 and February 2020.
The corridor allows Sikh pilgrims to travel visa-free to the Kartarpur gurdwara via the Attari-Wagah border.