Punjab: Kartarpur Corridor to reopen today as flood-situation eases on Indo-Pak border

Narowal (Punjab) [India]: The Kartarpur Corridor, connecting the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan to Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district, is set to reopen for pilgrims on Tuesday as the flood-situation eased near the India-Pakistan border.

On Monday evening, Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Border Range Amritsar, Narinder Bhargav visited the corridor to take stock of the situation.
“A flood-like situation had arisen near the Indo-Pak border due to the rise in water-level of the Ravi river. Due to this, the yatra was postponed temporarily,” he said.

In addition, the Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal also visited the Kartarpur Corridor and said it has been decided to reopen the corridor tomorrow.

“Kartarpur Corridor was flooded in the past few days due to a rise in the water level of Ravi River. A few structures & roads were damaged. All officials inspected it today. The roads on the Indian side have been repaired. All the damages have been repaired”, DCP Aggarwal told ANI.

“We have also been told that even on the Pakistan side, the situation is alright. In the interest of pilgrims, it has been decided to reopen the corridor tomorrow, 25th July. 132 pilgrims have registered themselves for tomorrow. Still, they have been advised to avoid it if they can re-register later…”, added the Gurdaspur DCP.

An Agreement between the Indian Government and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the facilitation of pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Pakistan, was signed on October 24, 2019, in order to fulfil the long-standing demand of Indian citizens and Overseas Citizen of India, to have easy and smooth access to the holy Gurudwara and to operationalise the corridor in time for the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

Kartarpur Corridor was inaugurated on November 9, 2019. It remains functional on all seven days of the week.