Kartarpur Corridor inauguration: Punjab govt declares holiday for Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Amritsar tomorrow

Chandigarh: The Punjab government has declared a holiday for three districts on Saturday, the day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dispatch the first jatha visiting Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan from Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab's Gurdaspur district. 

The corridor will be inaugurated ahead of the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev that falls on November 12.

After inaugurating the Corridor and the Passenger Terminal Building, the PM will also address a public gathering at Dera Baba Nanak, approximately three km from the Kartarpur Corridor.

On the historic occasion, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has declared a holiday in Gurdaspur, Kapurthala and Amritsar districts.

A total of 550 devotees, including ex-prime minister Manmohan Singh, will comprise the first jatha visiting Darbar Sahib Gurudwara at Kartarpur in the Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province via the 4.2 km-long Kartarpur Corridor.

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has also been granted the permission by the government to accompany the jatha.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Gurdaspur, Sunny Deol, will also be a part of the official jatha.

When asked if he would attend the inauguration ceremony, Sunny Deol told reporters: “If I won't go who will? I will definitely go. It is my area and my home."

The Darbar Sahib Gurudwara is located around 4 km from the border with India. The shrine is believed to have been constructed on the spot where Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev passed away in the 16th century.

In a related development, Pakistan took a U-turn today when it reportedly told India that it will charge the USD 20 facilitation fee from each pilgrim using the corridor to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib tomorrow.

On November 1, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had declared that no fee would be charged from the devotees on the inauguration day of the corridor (November 9) and on Guru Nanak's 550th birth anniversary (November 12).

The Pakistan Foreign Office had also on Thursday confirmed the waiving of the fee for November 9 and November 12.

According to sources, Pakistan has apprised India of its decision to charge the USD 20 fee from pilgrims.

Notably, India has been protesting the USD 20 service fee, with many describing it as a jizya tax.

India and Pakistan had last month signed an agreement to operationalise the historic corridor to allow Indian Sikh devotees a visa-free visit to the Darbar Sahib in Pakistan.