Kartarpur Corridor: Online registration begins today

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Dera Baba Nanak (Gurdaspur), November 16

With the decks having been cleared for the reopening of the 4.6 km-long Kartarpur corridor, the online registration process will commence from Wednesday, while the first devotee will cross over two days later.

The passage is being thrown open to the public after a 20-month hiatus, beginning from March 23 last year following the outbreak of Covid.

The passage connects Dera Baba Nanak with the shrine in Pakistan. The reopening will coincide with the birth anniversary celebrations of the Guru Nanak Dev.

The decision was welcomed by CM Charanjit Singh Channi and Dy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. The CM was at Dharowali, the native village of Randhawa, barely 10 km from the corridor, when he received the news.

Teams of the Bureau of Immigration and the Customs department have already reached the Integrated Check Post (ICP). Hectic activity was seen today in and around the ICP, where all immigration and security activities take place before devotees are allowed access to the corridor. The decision comes nearly two years after the passage was dedicated to the public by PM Narendra Modi on November 19, 2019.

The passage has been designed to enable 5,000 pilgrims to pass every day. However, this figure was never touched, let alone being surpassed following security restrictions. There were days when the figure dropped to just 90-100. The low turnout was attributed to the precondition that devotees should possess passports. Although a visa is not stamped on the passport, its details are uploaded onto the immigration software systems of both India and Pakistan.

All conditions that were prevalent before March 23, 2020, remain in place. These include the requirement of a passport. The corridor’s security, like earlier, will be looked after by the BSF, Army, CISF and Batala police.