The Kartarpur Corridor, connecting the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur, Punjab to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan, was inaugurated today, allowing Sikh pilgrims in India year round access to one of their holiest sites. As part of the Kartarpur Corridor inauguration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first procession of over 500 pilgrims on the Indian side while his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan declared it open at the other end.
The Kartarpur Corridor opening marks the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, founder of Sikhism. The corridor is being inaugurated almost a year after the foundation stone for was laid down.
PM Modi today inaugurated the Integrated Check Post, a passenger terminal building where pilgrims will get clearance to travel through the 4.5 km-long corridor. The design of the state-of-the-art passenger terminal building is inspired by "Khanda", a symbol of faith in the Sikh community.
The fully air-conditioned building has over 50 immigration counters for facilitating about 5,000 pilgrims a day.
The project was executed by central government agency -- Land Ports Authority of India. It has all the necessary public amenities such as kiosks, washrooms, child care, first aid medical facilities, prayer room and snacks counters inside the main building.
India had signed an agreement with Pakistan on October 24 on the modalities for operationalisation of the corridor at ''Zero Point'' of the international boundary at Dera Baba Nanak.
