Online registration of devotees began on Thursday after India and Pakistan signed an agreement to operationalise the Kartarpur Corridor to allow Sikh pilgrims to visit the holy Darbar Sahib in that country.
All pilgrims 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.
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. Eco-friendly material, preferably cloth bags, should be used during the pilgrimage and the surroundings should be kept clean.
The pilgrims will travel in the morning and shall have to return the same day.
Pilgrims can carry maximum Rs 11,000
Pilgrims 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.
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 are 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 USD 20 as 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 cordinate 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 on 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 everyday and that additional pilgrims 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.
Kartarpur pilgrims to not carry WiFi, broadband devices, maps, knife; kirpans allowed
WiFi and broadband devices, flags and banners challenging territorial integrity of India or Pakistan, liquor and a host of other items have been put in the prohibited list for pilgrims visiting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur across the border.
The negative list of items for pilgrims travelling through the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor on either way include firearms and ammunition, explosives, narcotic and psychotropic substances, and knife and blade except all types of kirpans, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.