Sidhu writes to PM, Imran on corridor

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 20

Local Bodies Minister Navjot Sidhu has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan suggesting them ways to develop the Kartarpur corridor. He has urged both leaders to maintain the sanctity and serenity around the gurdwara.

  In a letter to Imran Khan, Sidhu said, “I request that the old pristine landscape and terrain of the area should not be disfigured in the name of commercialisation and providing tourist comforts. Kartarpur Sahib is a sacred place and should remain so without compromising its history, architecture and ecology. The holy land where Guru Nanak Dev spent 18 years of his life should be declared a heritage village.”

Regarding the land which was once tilled by Baba Nanak, Sidhu has suggested that it could be utilised for organic cultivation of local food crops that must be used to serve langar to devotees visiting the gurdwara.

Sidhu proposed that only foot movement be allowed through the corridor with exception only for elderly, disabled or sick, along with providing accessible amenities such as toilets. Personal transport should be eschewed at all costs. On 104 acre, walking trails could be developed for people to walk along fields once tilled by Guru Nanak Dev.

The minister said the new facilities for religious tourists should not interfere with the current aesthetics and must be eco-friendly. Their architecture be kept aligned to the Guru’s period. Exploration work should be taken up to rediscover heritage sites in Kartarpur Sahib that existed at time of Baba Nanak, leaving the architecture of all historical buildings untouched.