Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reopen the Kartarpur Corridor, in view of the improvement in the COVID situation to facilitate the people to visit the historic shrine in Pakistan.
Capt Amarinder, in a letter to the Prime Minister, said that his Government would be happy to work in conjunction with the Government of India to ensure adherence to proper COVID-19 protocols, including testing and vaccination of pilgrims using the Corridor.
The Chief Minister hoped for a positive consideration by the Prime Minister in this regard. The demand came days after Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) had urged the newly-appointed Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu to push for reopening of the corridor. PSGPC, in its special congratulatory letter to Sidhu on his elevation to Punjab Congress apex post, stated, “At this historic moment, the Pakistani Sikh community is overwhelmed after hearing the news of your appointment as PPCC chief and offered special Ardas at Shri Nankana Sahib, Shri Panja Sahib, and Shri Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur for your success and progress. PSGPC would also like to highlight here that Sikh community of the world has a lot of hopes that you will play your part in the reopening of the Indian side of the Kartarpur Corridor which is closed since March 2020.”
The Chief Minister, in his letter, pointed out that the movement of devotees to Kartarpur through the Corridor was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID outbreak. “The COVID-19 situation in Punjab has shown signs of significant improvement in the past one month and I am happy to share that yesterday, no COVID-19 related death was reported, after almost a period of one year,” he wrote.
He said that in the changed scenario, the people have obviously again evinced their desire to have darshan at Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur. The Chief Minister said: “We have been fortunate that the Kartarpur Corridor was opened on the auspicious occasion of the 550th prakash purab of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji in November 2019...It helped fulfill the long-standing demand of ‘khulle darshan deedar’ of the historic Gurudwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, located just across the international border in Pakistan.”