How Kartarpur Corridor came up

Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without religion. It was based on this adage that the concept of the Kartarpur Corridor — one of Sikhism’s most sacred modern-day projects — was born.

Nobody knew how things would work out between two warring nations. With the Pulwama and Pathankot air base attacks in the background, sceptics had a field day. Nevertheless, there was an unwavering faith in the project and the corridor slowly came up layer by layer, brick by brick.

In November 2018, former Pakistan PM Imran Khan announced that a 4.6-km corridor would be constructed linking Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara, also known as Darbar Sahib, in Narowal district to Dera Baba Nanak in India. Kartarpur is the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev.

The Pakistan government approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a soft loan. Imran told IMF that he would open a gateway from Pakistan to India that would facilitate travel of pilgrims from Dera Baba Nanak to Darbar Sahib Gurdwara.

All eyes were now on PM Narendra Modi to accept or reject the offer. The general elections were barely six months away. The PM could not afford to disappoint the Sikh vote bank. Modi agreed and on November 26, the then Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of the Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Dera Baba Nanak. Two days later, Imran Khan laid the foundation stone of the Pakistan ICP.

In Chandigarh, the then Punjab Capt CM Amarinder Singh and his Cabinet were worried that the corridor would draw a massive rush and the staff would be overwhelmed. After prolonged discussions with the Home Ministry, it was decided to give permission to 5,000 devotees every day. The Pakistani government imposed a fee of 20 US dollars per devotee. This was objected to by the Centre and SGPC. Pakistani officials maintained they had spent a lot of money and hence wanted to offset costs by imposing a fee.

As the land acquisition process got underway, there were protests by farmers demanding more price than what was being offered to them. Capt Amarinder Singh asked local MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa to play the role of a mediator between the farmers and the government.

The PM ordered the LPAI and the National High Authority of India (NHAI) to take charge. The Surface Transport ministry was given Rs 538 crore. On the other hand, Capt Amarinder Singh sanctioned Rs 172 crore for the beautification of Dera Baba Nanak town.

NHAI was given the responsibility of constructing the road, including a 100-metre bridge and also to widen all the four roads leading to the ICP. The Army too was at work. Officers secured the bridge with explosives to make sure the structure could be demolished in case of an attack. Despite impediments, the corridor came up on time.