2,500 pilgrims stranded at Hazur Sahib for nine days

GURDWARA BOARD SAYS THEY ARE MAKING ALL POSSIBLE EFFORTS TO ENSURE SAFE RETURN OF DEVOTEES, MOST OF THEM FROM PUNJAB

AMRITSAR : As many as 2,500 pilgrims, most of them from Punjab, have been stranded at Takht Hazur Sahib Sachkhand, one of the five temporal seats of Sikhs, in Nanded district of Maharashtra since the countrywide lockdown was enforced to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

Talking to HT over phone, Gurmeet Singh Mahajan, a member of Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib Gurdwara Board, said, “There are around 2,500 pilgrims and most of them are from Punjab, who have been stranded here. Around 350 pilgrims have been staying in the gurdwara’s serai (inn) and 1,800 pilgrims have been accommodated in the serai-run by Kaar Sewa. Other pilgrims have been accommodated at other locations.” He added, “Though we have made proper arrangements for their daily necessities, it is difficult for them to be away from their homes in such circumstances.” He said, “We are making all possible efforts to ensure the safe return of the devotees. BJP MP from Nanded Prataprao Govindrao Chikhalikar has been in regular touch with the central government. Five day ago, we had got assurance from Union minister Parkash Javadekar regarding the pilgrims’ return, but we are still waiting for some information from the Centre.”

On March 25, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh had written to Union home minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray to help evacuate these devotees. Gurdaspur BJP MP Sunny Deol has also written to the Maharashra CM. Meanwhile, Khadoor Sahib MP Jasbir Singh Dimpa on Thursday wrote a letter to PM Modi seeking arrangement of special train or flight for the safe return of the pilgrims.