Arrangements for Baisakhi festival completed in Lahore

Sikh pilgrims will leave for Hassan Abdal through special trains for main ceremony

LAHORE: Baisakhi Mela arrangements for Sikh pilgrims, who will reach Lahore from India and all over the world, have been completed.

Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Secretary Tariq Wazir Khan reviewed all the arrangements on Wednesday and was briefed about the preparations. Wazir was informed that 2,200 Indian Sikh pilgrims would arrive in Pakistan through the Wagah railway station on April 12. They will leave for Hassan Abdal through special trains and the main ceremony would be held on April 14. The Sikh pilgrims will reach Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib on April 15. They will later depart for Gurdwara Sacha Sauda in Farooqabad on April 17.

After reaching Lahore on April 18, they will stay at Gurdwara Dehra Sahib. On April 19, the Sikh pilgrims will return to Lahore after a one-day visit to Gurdwara Kartarpur in Narowal.

After participating in the Baisakhi Mela seminar during their stay in Lahore, the Sikh pilgrims will return to India on April 21 after a one-day stay in Lahore.

Wazir said the main ceremony would be held in Gurdwara Panja Sahib at Hassan Abdal in which Sikh pilgrims from across the world, including India and Pakistan, would attend the ceremony. He said Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri, Board Chairman Tahir Ahsan as well as officers and staff were busy with the Baisakhi festival arrangements.