Amarinder to review work on Kartarpur corridor Thursday

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh will take stock of the ongoing work on the Kartarpur corridor project at Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district on Thursday, a state minister said on Wednesday.

The Kartarpur corridor will connect Darbar Sahib -- the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev -- in Pakistan's Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district of Punjab. It will facilitate visa-free movement of Indian pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which is located in Pakistan's Narowal district across the Ravi river, about four kilometres from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine.

"CM sahib will inspect the ongoing work being carried out by NHAI and Land Port Authority of India at Dera Baba Nank tomorrow (Thursday)," Punjab Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said.

Pakistan is building the corridor from the Indian border to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, while the other part from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur up to the border is being built by India.

The four-lane highway connecting the Zero Point of the Kartarpur corridor up to National Highway-354 is being constructed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Besides, a passenger terminal is also under construction.

The corridor will be opened in November in connection with the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

Randhawa further said the Punjab Cabinet will hold its next meeting at Dera Baba Nanak town in Gurdaspur.

Earlier, the counsel of ministers had held its meeting at Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district.

The minister said he will discuss the issue of proceedings of Tuesday's Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee coordination panel meeting with the chief minister.

Randhawa had on Tuesday attended the meeting of coordination panel for the first time as representative of the state government in connection with the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev in Amritsar.