India and Pakistan have agreed on visa-free travel of Indian pilgrims on Kartarpur corridor.
Pakistan has refused to construct their side of a bridge on the elevated corridor to Kartarpur Darbar Sahab from Gurdaspur. Islamabad, instead, has built an alternate road connecting to India which pilgrims will use for first time on November 8. While the construction of a four-lane highway connecting the 'zero point' for the onward journey to Pakistan is well on way, work across the border is very slow, a visit to the spot by NDTV revealed.
India and Pakistan had agreed to build a bridge at the Budhi-Ravi channel. But with the construction of the bridge on Pakistan side pending but both sides agreed to start pilgrimage.
"An alternative road is being built up to the zero point due to the unavailability of the bridge and the road in the Pakistan side," Chairman Land and Port Authority of India Govind Mohan told NDTV.
India is also building a state-of-the-art passenger terminal with facilitation centre to host government officials responsible for ensuring hassle-free travel of pilgrims at the spot near zero point.
It will be complete with food kiosks, parking areas and security points and is expected to be ready by November 8, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally inaugurate the much-awaited Kartarpur corridor.
The Kartarpur corridor is scheduled to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr Mohan said work on the four-lane highway and the passenger terminal, which would accommodate 5,000 pilgrims, will be completed by October-end.
Sailendra Ajri, Vice President of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the contractor of the project, said 1,832 labourers are working in multiple shifts while 58 heavy-duty cranes are also being engaged for the work.
The slow progress of the work in Pakistan is visible from the Indian side. No work is being conducted on the road that's expected to connect to the four-lane highway on the Indian side, or the bridge across the Budhi-Ravi channel.
"Pakistan has deferred construction, but they have assured that they will complete the work in good time," Mr Mohan said. The corridor will be operational seven days a week and pilgrims will have a choice to visit it as individuals or in groups.
Last year, Pakistan said it would open Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur - one of the holiest shrine of the Sikhs - to pilgrims from India. The shrine had been closed to Indian pilgrims after the surgical strikes on terror launchpads across the Line of Control. It was also decided to build the proposed corridor connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib to Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab's Gurdaspur district.
Pakistan will provide transport up to the zero point to pick up pilgrims to their side of the facilitation centre and to drop them back. A total of 55 immigration counters are being set up at the passenger terminal.
There will be no visa requirements, but the pilgrims will have to carry their passport. A pilgrim will only have to obtain a permit to visit the revered gurdwara in Pakistan. Persons of Indian origin holding OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) card too can visit the Gurdwara using the Kartarpur corridor.
Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, had spent more than 18 years at Gurdwara Kartarpur, located on the banks of the river Ravi. Last November, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu had laid the foundation stone for the Kartarpur corridor in Punjab's Gurdaspur district.
Last month, both countries agreed on visa-free travel of Indian pilgrims on Kartarpur corridor. It was also decided that 5,000 pilgrims can visit the shrine every day and that additional pilgrims will be allowed on special occasions, subject to capacity expansion of facilities by Pakistan side.
India and Pakistan are still negotiating on Islamabad's insistence of charging $20 from each Indian pilgrim and the daily timings of pilgrimage. India has asked Pakistan to reconsider the issue. New Delhi also wants Islamabad to allow 10,000 pilgrims on special occasions and an Indian protocol officer to accompany the delegation that visits Kartarpur every day. Pakistan is yet to respond to the requests.