The first batch of pilgrims today entered Pakistan via the Kartarpur corridor on their way to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the passenger terminal building of the Kartarpur Corridor which connects the Dera Baba Nanak in India's Punjab with Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province.
The corridor is being thrown open just days before the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev on November 12.
The corridor which links the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in this Punjab district was inaugurated on the Pakistani side by Khan. He will also receive the Indian Sikh pilgrims, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Modi also flagged off the first batch of over 500 Indian pilgrims that will travel to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province through the Kartarpur corridor.
On his way to the inaugural ceremony, Modi paid obeisance at the Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab. Donning a saffron turban, he also attended a program there. He was accompanied by Urban Development Minister Hardeep Puri and Akali Dal President, Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Speaking at the occasion, Modi thanked Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan for understanding India's sentiment on the issue of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.
In his half an hour address at the function organised by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the Prime Minister said that the corridor and the Integrated Check Post would serve thousands of devotees daily and bring happiness to the people. It will be easy to pay obeisance at the Darbar Sahib gurdwara after the opening of the Kartarpur corridor, he said at a gathering in Dera Baba Nanak.
Before the ceremony, the PM was given a guided tour on the life of Guru Nanak. He also released a commemorative coin and stamp to mark the occasion. Earlier today, Modi had offered prayers at the Ber Sahib Gurudwara in Sultanpur Lodhi.
