Nearly three lakh pilgrims from India have visited the Gurudwara Shri Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan since a corridor was opened on the border nearly five years ago, but each one of them had to pay a $ 20 (Rs 1,681.51) fee.
This is the amount that Pakistan has steadfastly charged from each Indian pilgrim as fee, despite India raising it multiple times that the amount should be waived off in deference to the wishes of the pilgrims. The writer of this report also paid the fee when he visited the Gurudwara in 2022.
Pakistan has earned nearly Rs 51 crore from charging this fee till date; for some, the fee may be a deterrent. Incidentally, no such fee is charged by Pakistan from the locals visiting the Gurudwara.
India and Pakistan have renewed the agreement for another five years now, underlining Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to the sentiments of Sikhs, officials said. India said it has again urged Pakistan to waive the $ 20 fee that it charges from each Indian pilgrim to visit the Gurudwara in Pakistan.
“Pakistan speaks a lot about building confidence and restoring friendly ties, but does not waive this $ 20 fee for a pious religious place which the Sikhs have deep sentiments for,” a source said.
Pilgrim Numbers Rising
After the corridor’s re-opening following the Covid pandemic, the number of pilgrims from India has been rising. A total of 86,097 pilgrims used the corridor in 2022 while 96,555 pilgrims went to the Gurudwara from India last year. The bilateral agreement signed between India and Pakistan on October 24, 2019, regarding Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor mandates the pilgrims to travel on a valid passport, which is neither stamped nor a visa is needed.
To facilitate the visit of pilgrims, a state-of-the-art infrastructure, including a highway from the town of Dera Baba Nanak to Zero Point and an Integrated Check Post has been built on the Indian side. The Pakistan side has built an immigration building, security check-point and runs a bus service to ferry the pilgrims till the Gurudwara on its side of the border.
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