Bhopal: The Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh decided on Wednesday to include the recently-opened Gurudwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan among the list of pilgrimages covered under the existing Mukhyamantri Teerth Darshan Scheme.
The Mukyamantri Teerth Darshan Scheme, started by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in September 2012 is an ambitious pilgrimage scheme which facilitates state-sponsored tours to religious locations for elderly citizens (aged above 60 years) of the central Indian state.
It’s one-time assistance in a lifetime to Madhya Pradesh-domiciled senior citizens to visit a pilgrimage of their choice outside the state.
An order by the state’s Spirituality Department to include the holy Sikh shrine in the ambitious Mukhyamantri Teerth Darshan Scheme was released on Wednesday.
The Kartarpur corridor, which connects Darbar Sahib Dera Baba Nanak in India's Punjab, with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur was thrown open on November 9
The latest decision of the Congress government comes just a few days after the state government announced including the Five Takhts (thrones or seats of temporal authority in Sikhism) in the Mukhya Mantri Teerth Darshan Yojana to mark the 550 Prakash Parva of first Sikh Guru Nanak Dev.
The five Takhts (seats of faith/pilgrimages) to be included in the CM’s pilgrimage scheme, are Takht Sachkhand Sahib in Nanded (Maharashtra), Keshgarh Sahib in Anandpur (Punjab), Damdama Sahib in Batindha (Punjab), Poanta Sahib of Sirmaur and Manikaran Sahib in Himachal Pradesh.
Later, the state government had also decided to build a Sikh Museum and Research Centre in Jabalpur to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary Sikh religion founder Guru Nanak Dev. The museum-cum-research centre will come up with funds totaling Rs 20 crores.
The state government had also decided to develop six prominent Sikh religion sites into major religious tourist destinations at the cost of Rs 12 crores. The six Sikh religion sites which will be developed as religious tourist hotspots, include Tekri Sahib Gurudwara in state capital Bhopal, Imli Sahib Gurudwara and Betma Sahib Gurudwara (Indore), Gurudwara in Omkareshwar (Khandwa), Guru Nanak Ghat Gurudwara (Ujjain) and Gwari Ghat Gurudwara (Jabalpur).
All the six prominent religious sites of Sikhism which are linked to the Sikhism founder’s life will be developed as major religious tourists draws at the cost of Rs 2 crore each.