It will be mandatory for pilgrims to show a negative RT-PCR test report and COVID-19 vaccination certificate visiting artarpur Sahib corridor that leads to the most revered shrines of Sikhs located in Pakistan.
In a major decision, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has decided to reopen the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor from Wednesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday.
Speaking to News18, Aamer Ahmed, Chairman of the Evacuee Trust Property Board that looks after the Gurdwara, said Covid-19 protocol applicable to the rest of the country will be in effect for the Kartarpur Corridor pilgrimage as well. He added that no COVID-19 test would be conducted on arrival.
He said pilgrims will have to undergo temperature checks and anyone with Covid-19 symptoms will be moved to isolation. The RT-PCR certificate should not be older than 72 hours. Mask rules and social distancing will be followed throughout the pilgrimage and sanitization stations will be in place.
The corridor, which will be re-opened on Wednesday, links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district.
The corridor was shut in wake of the COVID pandemic.
The visa-free 4.7-kilometre long corridor joins the Indian border to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan. It became operational in 2019 and was inaugurated by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The reopening of Kartarpur will assist thousands of devotees, largely Sikhs, to visit the final resting place of Guru Nanak in Pakistan.
Alternatively, the devotees are visiting the shrine going via the Attari-Wagah border which requires a visa.
Notably, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders of Punjab recently met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and requested for reopening of the corridor.
