Kartarpur Corridor Reopens today – Check visit protocol

New Delhi: Following the decline in Covid cases, the Centre on Tuesday aanounced to re-open the Kartarpur corridor which connects Sikh shrines in India and Pakistan.

Home Minister Amit Shah took to the micro-blogging site twitter and said, "In a major decision, that will benefit large numbers of Sikh pilgrims, PM @Narendramodi govt has decided to re-open the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor from tomorrow, Nov 17. This decision reflects the immense reverence of Modi govt towards Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji and our Sikh community".

"The nation is all set to celebrate the Prakash Utsav of Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji on 19th of November and I am sure that PM @NarendraModi govt's decision to reopen the Kartarpur Sahib corridor will further boost the joy and happiness across the country," he added in another post.

Although, this corridor was opened in the year 2019 itself but within just four months it was closed in March 2020 due to Corona. Now, this shrine is being reopened once again after about one and a half years. The Government of India made an announcement in this regard on Tuesday.

Under this, about 100-200 pilgrims from India can reach Pakistan through the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor every day. The administration of both India and Pakistan will check the list of pilgrims on daily basis. However, maximum number of devotees is expected to join the corridor only on November 19, the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, which is celebrated as Prakash Parv.

The Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara is also important to the Sikhs because in this Gurudwara their Guru Nanak Dev spent the last years of his life and died.

Check Kartarpur visit protocol & Guidelines

Covid-19 norms in Kartarpor corridor has been placed in such a way that the people who are visiting the pious place will have to follow some rules like those who have taken the both doses of COVID vaccine, on they visit the place. They will also need to carry negative RT-PCR report, provided that it shouldn't be more than 72 hours old. Meanwhile, COVID vaccination certificate will also be mandatory.

According to some media reports, the pilgrims will also have to undergo a rapid antigen test upon reaching Pakistan. However, after this they will not have to undergo any kind of investigation. Also, travelers will have to follow Pakistan's Corona related rules as the darshan will be in their area. If someone shows symptoms of corona during the journey, then they can be sent to isolation.

On October 24, 2019, India had signed the Kartarpur Corridor Agreement with Pakistan which allowed Indian pilgrims of all religions to travel visa-free throughout the year through the 4.5-km-long route.

In November 2019, the Kartarpur corridor was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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