Govt urged to reopen Kartarpur Corridor
The last batch of the pilgrims visited the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur, on May 7 through this corridor. The Kartarpur Corridor provides visa-free access to the Indian pilgrims and NRIs to the sacred Sikh shrine. Amid the escalated tension between both the countries in the wake of 'Operation Sindoor' launched by India following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people in Jammu and Kashmir, it was closed till further orders from the Indian side.
As the ceasefire was declared by both the countries, a ray of hope for its reopening had emerged. However, uncertainty is prevailing over its reopening, even as demand is being raised for the same.
On Friday, Member of Parliament (MP) from Patiala Dr Dharamvira Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting for the reopening of the trans-border corridor that connects the Indian border town having religious importance, Dera Baba Nanak, to Kartarpur Gurdwara.
As a Member of Parliament's Standing Committees on Railways, Dr Gandhi highlighted numerous appeals from Punjabis, particularly Sikhs, who are eager to visit Kartarpur Sahib. In his letter, Gandhi stressed that the corridor, inaugurated in 2019 to mark the 550th birth anniversary of the first Sikh Guru, stood as a powerful symbol of peace and religious unity.
Satnam Singh Chahal, the executive director of the North American Punjabi Association (NAPA), on Saturday appealed to the Government of India to immediately reopen the Kartarpur Corridor, enabling Sikh pilgrims from India to visit the Darbar Sahib.
Chahal said Pakistan continues to keep its side of the corridor open. 'In contrast, the closure on the Indian side has left millions of Sikhs in the country disheartened, disconnected, and disappointed', Chahal said.
Dera Baba Nanak's resident Baba Sukhdeep Singh Bedi, one of the descendants of Guru Nanak, said, 'The corridor opening was decades old demand of the Sikh community and it was opened in 2019. However, strained ties between both the countries have cast shadow over it. The Sikhs are upset over the closure of the corridor. The Government of India, keeping Sikh sentiments in view, should reopen it'.
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