Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the State-of-the-art Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) at Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur District in Punjab on November 8, reports Tribune India on October 31. The inauguration will formally open the Kartarpur Corridor connecting two historical Gurdwaras on either side of the India-Pakistan border for pilgrims. As per the reports, the Prime Minister will also address a public meeting nearly three kilometres from the building after the inauguration, following which he will attend the 550th Birth Anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak being organised at Sultanpur Lodhiin Kapurthala District. The much-awaited corridor will connect the said shrine with the Gurdwara at Kartarpur city of Shakargarh area in Narowal District of Punjab province in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on November 1 announced that Sikh pilgrims from India would not need a passport to travel to Kartarpur and no fee would be charged from them on the opening day of the corridor on November 9, reports Tribune India. “For Sikhs coming for pilgrimage to Kartarpur from India, I have waived off two requirements: i) they won’t need a passport-just a valid ID; ii) they no longer have to register 10 days in advance. Also, no fee to be charged on day of inauguration and on Guruji’s 550th birthday,” Khan tweeted. The Kartarpur Corridor will connect the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur District of Punjab in India with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, located at Narowal District of Punjab province in Pakistan. On October 24, India and Pakistan signed an agreement on the Corridor that will allow Indian pilgrims to undertake visa-free visit to the Gurdwara, the shrine of the Sikh religion’s founder Guru Nanak Dev in Pakistan.