Indian pilgrims can visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib through the recently-opened Kartarpur corridor without a visa but cannot go to the other parts of Pakistan.
Credit: PTI Photo
Lahore: Pakistan's Punjab province government plans to establish a 'Darshan Resort' close to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur to provide a view of the holy site to the Sikh pilgrims staying there.
Inaugurated in 2019, the Kartarpur corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, where Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev lived and died at the start of the 16th century, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab's Gurdaspur district. The 4 km-long corridor provides visa free access to Indian pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.
"The construction of a five-storey Darshan Resort will start next month with an estimated cost of Pakistani Rupee (PKR) 300 million," Punjab Secretary Tourism Raja Jahangir Anwar told PTI on Monday.
Anwar said the project has been envisaged to facilitate the Sikhs coming from across the globe.
About the project, he said it would be built just 500 meters away from the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. "The ground breaking of the project will be held next month. And by the end of 2024, the resort will be completed," Anwar said, adding that the Punjab government will fund the whole project.
The provincial secretary further said that Darshan Resort will have at least 10 suite rooms on the top floor, mini theatre and gym.
He said the resort will also offer a perfect aerial view of the Karatarpur Sahib. "Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has already accorded approval to establish the 50-room Darshan Resort by the Punjab Tourism Department," Anwar said.
Kartarpur has a special significance in the Sikh religion, as the first Guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev, had spent the last years of his life in Kartarpur.