The Kartarpur Corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district up to the International Border will cost Rs 85-Rs 100 crore, officials said on Wednesday.
The corridor will facilitate easy passage to the Sikh pilgrims to the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur.
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib is located on the banks of the Ravi river in Pakistan, where Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, had spent 18 years of his life.
The corridor will be built by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Punjab Public Works Department Minister Vijay Inder Singla said, “A sum of Rs 85 crore to 100 crore is estimated to be spent on constructing the Kartarpur Corridor”.
It will also involve cost of land acquisition for the four-lane highway from Dera Baba Nanak up to the International Border, he said.
The Union Cabinet had on November 22 decided to develop and build the passage from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district to the International Border.
Following this, the foundation stone for the Kartarpur Corridor was laid on November 26 at Dera Baba Nanak where Union minister Nitin Gadkari had said that his ministry would try to complete the construction work of the corridor expeditiously.
Kartarpur is located in Shakargarh in Narowal district of Pakistan’s Punjab. The gurdwara in Kartarpur is located about three to four km from the Indo-Pak border in Pakistan.
The Pakistan government had also held the groundbreaking ceremony of the corridor on their side on November 28.
The Punjab Cabinet had recently passed a special resolution to set up a Dera Baba Nanak Development Authority for the development and beautification of the area in and around Dera Baba Nanak.
A Kartarpur Gate has also been proposed to be set up on the Indian side of the International Border which would stand out as a monumental symbol to commemorate the 550th ‘Prakash Purb’ (birth anniversary) of Guru Nanak Dev. PTI
