Kartarpur corridor reopens today, Punjab Cabinet to be part of first jatha

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 16

Closed since March last year in the wake of the Covid pandemic, the Kartarpur corridor linking Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Narowal, Pakistan, will reopen for pilgrims on Wednesday.

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Marking gurpurb

• The online registration for the Kartarpur pilgrimage will commence from Wednesday
• The passage is being thrown open to the public after a 20-month hiatus
• The corridor was closed after the outbreak of Covid in March last year
• The pilgrimage starts two days before Gurpurb on November 19

Making the announcement on Twitter today, Home Minister Amit Shah said, “In a major decision that will benefit a large number of Sikh pilgrims, the government has decided to reopen the Kartarpur corridor from tomorrow, November 17. This decision reflects the immense reverence of Modi government towards Guru Nanak Dev and our Sikh community.” The Home Minister said the nation was all set to celebrate the Parkash Utsav of Guru Nanak Dev on November 19 and the decision would further boost the joy and happiness across the country.

Welcoming the move, Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi said the state Cabinet would be part of the jatha which would visit the historic shrine in Pakistan on November 18. Sources said the PMO had been in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home to finalise the modalities of the reopening process after representations were made to the government in this regard.

The move came at a time when the daily Covid cases have stabilised at or below 10,000. The country saw 8,865 new cases in the past 24 hours and daily new infection cases have been below 50,000 for 142 days now.

“Active Covid cases constitute 0.38 per cent of the country’s total cases, the lowest since March 2020, when the corridor was closed. The situation has stabilised,” said a Health Ministry source. The Home Ministry has also assessed the security scenario before giving a go-ahead to reopen the corridor.