Punjab govt to pick 25 people from each district for 1st jatha

The Punjab government will pick 25 people from each district of the state for the first jatha of pilgrims going to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur, in Pakistan through the corridor, in addition to the dignitaries. Source privy to the development said that the government had distributed 25 Pro formas (form) to each of the 22 deputy commissioners for the selection. The primary citeria to get on the list would be the name and fame of individuals. Mostly, they are expected to be supporters of the ruling Congress.

Dera Baba Nanak SDM Gursimran Singh Dhillon said 25 offline forms had been given to political functionaries, MLAs, MPs or ministers for the first jatha. For common devotees, the online form-filling portal is yet to be launched. Punjab cooperation and jails minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said, “A total of 5,000 pilgrims will go to Kartarpur. It remains to be seen how many slots are allotted to the Punjab government by the Centre.”

Replying to a query if common devotees will be part of this jatha, he said, “Yes, they will go. Participation from our side will only be 1,000 persons. The remaining will be common devotees.”

On Wednesday, officials of Land Ports Authority of India, in town to assess the progress of the construction of corridor, had said that the online form-filling portal will start on October 20. On a query that the Indian government had said applicants had to apply a month before the planned visit, he said, “I feel union government will grant clearance in 10 days in initial stages and pilgrims will not have to wait for a month.”