CHANDIGARH: Around 59,000 people used the Kartarpur corridor to visit the Darbar Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan a year after the passage was opened between India and Pakistan.
The corridor remained operational for four months as it was closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Pakistan government reopened the corridor from its side on October 3 following “improvement” in the pandemic conditions. The Indian government is yet to decide on the shrine’s reopening.
As a result, the integrated check posts on both sides of the border wear a deserted look.
As per the agreement between the two countries, 5,000 pilgrims daily and 10,000 on special days are allowed to visit the gurdwara through the corridor.
The Akal Takht, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the Akalis and the Congress have requested the Centre to re-open the corridor at the earliest.
“We request Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to re-open the corridor as all religious places, malls and cinema halls have reopened,’’ said SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal.
The Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, has also issued a similar appeal.
The corridor is a 4.6-km passage with two integrated check posts on either side of the border.
It starts from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district and extends to the Kartarpur shrine in Pakistan’s Narowal district.