Demand for the construction of a Special Corridor
Sikh's apex body Shiromani Gurudwara Parbhandhak Committee on Tuesday made a strong demand for the construction of a special corridor linking Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab's Gurdaspur district with Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Minister for External Affairs S M Krishna, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said the corridor to the Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, located about 3 kms from the Indo-Pakistan border, would enable Sikh devotees to walk to the shrine and return on the same day without passport and visa documents.
"In the wake of long cherished desire of devotees from all over the world, we appeal you to kindly take a prompt and concrete step to provide a corridor to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib from Gurdwara Dera Sahib enabling the devotees to walk to their beloved shrine and return on the same day without a passport and visa," Makkar said in the letter.
"This would certainly go a long way in providing a bridge between the people of the neighbouring countries," Makkar said.
Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib assumes significance among Sikh devotees as founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev spent spent last 17 years of his life here, preaching harmonious co-existence of different faiths and dignity of labour not only to Sikhs but also to the Hindus and Muslims by tilling the agricultural land in his old age.
Till 1965, there was a bridge across the river Ravi joining Dera Baba Nanak and Kartarpur, but it fall victim to the bombardment during 1965 war.