India keeps Kartarpur Corridor closed for 4th day

New Delhi prevents pilgrims from visiting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib on pretext of floods

LAHORE:

The Kartarpur Corridor, which was closed by the authorities in New Delhi on the pretext of floods, has not been reopened for the fourth day on Sunday due to which hundreds of Indian pilgrims could not reach Gurdwara Darbar Sahib to pay their respects.

Kartarpur Corridor Management officials said there was no possibility of floods near the border crossing and the shrine. Therefore, they added that the Indian authorities should immediately reopen the corridor.

The Indian authorities had closed the Kartarpur Corridor on Thursday because of the monsoon rains, preventing pilgrims from entering Pakistan.

Kartarpur Corridor Project Management Unit Deputy Secretary Rana Tariq said there was no flood or flood-like situation on Pakistan’s side of the border crossing, pushing the Indian side to allow the resumption of the pilgrimage immediately.

Bhai Gobind Singh, the head granthi of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, said that on July 19, there was a flood in the Ravi River due to which some water had reached near the Kartarpur zero line.

However, he added that the water level had decreased significantly since then.

“At present, there is no water on and near the zero line and all the way is clear,” he explained.

Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Dr Himanshu Aggarwal had directed to close the one-day pilgrimage to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur for three days for the safety of Indian pilgrims.

However, the corridor remained closed for the fourth day and Indian pilgrims were not allowed to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.

The Kartarpur Corridor between Pakistan and India was opened on November 2019.

According to the agreement, 5,000 Indian pilgrims could come to Darbar Sahib every day through the corridor.

The corridor connects Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, the last resting place of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji (1469-1539), the founder of Sikhism, with Dera Baba Nanak Sahib, another holy site in Indian Punjab.

The 42-acre shrine where Baba Guru Nanak spent the last 18 years of his life was destroyed by floods and rebuilt in 1925.

Historically, Pakistan has as much as 150 of Sikhism’s holy sites mainly concentrated in Punjab and visited by the Sikh community from around the world.

Gurdwara Janam Asthan (also known as Nankana Sahib) near Sheikhupura and also the Guru’s birthplace; Dera Sahab and Samadhi in Lahore; and Gurdwara Punja Sahab in Hasan Abdal draw millions of Sikh followers.