Kartarpur corridor project faces logistical hurdles

PAKISTAN WILL HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO BRIDGE TWO WATER BODIES BEFORE CELEBRATIONS TO MARK THE 550TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF GURU NANAK IN 2019

NEW DELHI: The opening of the Kartarpur corridor that will connect the Darbar Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan to Dera Baba Nanak in India faces several logistical challenges, apart from the obvious politico-diplomatic issues.

Among these are the need to build two bridges, one across the Ravi, and another, across a seasonal tributary of the Ravi, Begh Baein. The Ravi is about 1,200 ft and the Begh Baein about 400 ft in breadth.

Pakistan will have to find a way to bridge the two water bodies before next year’s celebrations to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. No details are available on how it will go about doing this although, on November 28, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Pakistan end of the corridor, Prime Minister Imran Khan said: “The next year you come here, you will find every kind of facilities.”

Darbar Sahib Gurdwara is located at the final resting place of Guru Nanak.

India and Pakistan have to also to work out the modalities of documentation needed by pilgrims and the security protocol to visit the shrine. People familiar with the matter say that in all likelihood, the Kartarpur Corridor will be something like the Wagah-artari border where a daily ceremony is held to mark the lowering of the flags and is attended by thousands on both sides of the border.