Govt to build Kartarpur corridor to mark 550th birth anniv of Guru Nanak

The central government has decided to develop the Kartarpur Sahib corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district till the gurdwara in Pakistan.

This was announced today by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at a press briefing in new Delhi. The decision to build the corridor has been taken keeping in mind the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in 2019.

The government has decided to celebrate the anniversary in a grand way, Jaitley said. He said that the corridor is being built since Guru Nank Dev had spent 18 years of his life there and people throng to the border to pay their homage. Jaitley said that the corridor will be built with facilities similar to those of an international airport.

Those who will not be able to travel across the border will be provided telescopic points from where they will be able to see the gurdwara.

The 3-4 kilometre long corridor will be built and funded entirely by the Central government and will provide a smooth passage to the pilgrims wishing to visit the gurdwara.

Apart from the corridor, the government is also planning to develop Sultanpur Lodhi, the birthplace of Guru Nanak as a heritage town and will be get all the facilities of a smart city.

As part of the heritage town, the government will also develop a special facility which will be called Pind Baba Nanak Da which will depict the life and teachings of Guru Nanak, Jaitley said.

A centre for interfaith studies will also be set up at Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar. As part of the celebrations to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the Government of India will also get Chairs set up at prominent universities in the UK and Canada.

To mark the year, special programmes will be aired both on Doordarshan and All India Radio to disseminate Guru Nanak’s teachings. Jaitley said that the government was also planning to release special coins and stamps to honour the mark the day.

Apart from this, the National Book Trust will publish books in all Indian languages on Guru Nanak’s life and teachings. Jaitley said that the government will request UNESCO to get these books translated into world languages as well.