NEW DELHI: Pilgrims who wish to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur in Pakistan will be allowed to carry a maximum of Rs 11,000 and a 7-kg bag, and will not be allowed to venture beyond the shrine.
According to the “do’s and don’ts” issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, children below 13 years and elderly persons of about 75 years and above will have to travel in groups while eco-friendly material, preferably cloth bags should be used during the pilgrimage.
The pilgrims will travel in the morning and shall have to return the same day. All pilgrims who propose to visit Sri Kartarpur Sahib in Narowal district of Pakistan, will have to register online (prakashpurb550.mha.gov.in) in advance and the applicant is required to register himself/herself in advance of proposed date of travel.
Registration does not confer a right to travel, the Home Ministry said. Applicants who will be granted permission may be informed only four days before the proposed date of travel. Therefore, applicants will have to make their travel arrangements in advance. The pilgrims will be allowed to visit only Sri Kartarpur Sahib and not anywhere outside.
Children below 13 years and elderly persons of about 75 years and above will have to travel in groups and eco-friendly material, preferably cloth bags should be used, and the surroundings should be kept clean. Currency limitation of maximum Rs 11,000 must be followed, the home ministry said, adding only one baggage up to 7 kg, including drinking water, may be carried.
Smoking, drinking and use of tobacco is not allowed inside the passenger terminal building (PTB) complex at the Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district in Punjab. The pilgrims were advised to not to touch any unattended article and inform about anything suspicious to the authorities. Playing loud music and photographing others without permission is not allowed.
Pakistan will levy $20 as a service charge per pilgrim for each visit. A 10-member panel – Kartarpur Sahib Corridor Executive Committee (KSCEC) – has been constituted under the chairmanship of the deputy commissioner-cum-chief administrator, Dera Baba Nanak (DBN) Development Authority, Punjab, to coordinate and facilitate the day-to-day functional aspects of Dera Baba Nanak-Kartarpur Sahib corridor. Sri Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, had spent more than 18 years of his life at the gurdwara Kartarpur, located on the banks of the river Ravi.
A state-of-the-art passenger terminal with facilitation centre to host government officials responsible for ensuring hassle-free travel of pilgrims, food kiosks, parking areas and security points will come up by November 8 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally inaugurate the much-awaited Kartarpur corridor. India and Pakistan Thursday signed a landmark agreement to operationalise the historic Kartarpur Corridor to allow Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the holy Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, notwithstanding a chill in bilateral ties.
Last month, India and Pakistan agreed on visa-free travel of Indian pilgrims to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib using the Kartarpur Corridor. Pilgrims will only have to carry their passports to visit the revered Gurdwara in Pakistan. Persons of Indian origin holding OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card too can visit the Gurdwara using the Kartarpur Corridor.
It was also decided that 5,000 pilgrims can visit the shrine every day and that additional pilgrim will be allowed on special occasions, subject to capacity expansion of facilities by the Pakistani side. India and Pakistan have also decided that the corridor will be operational throughout the year and seven days a week and that pilgrims, except kids and elderly persons, will have a choice to visit it as individuals or in groups. PTI
