1,467 pilgrims visit Kartarpur – highest since opening of corridor

The number of pilgrims visiting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan on Sunday reached 1,467, the highest turnout since the Kartarpur corridor was opened on November 9, officials said. The number of devotees to the historic Kartarpur shrine – the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak – had not crossed the 700-mark per day even since the corridor was opened. Immigration officials expected further increase in the number as people were getting aware about the online process of registration.

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Besides, Suwidha centres were also playing a vital role in increasing the number of pilgrims, the officials said. Gurvinder Bajwa, general secretary of Ravi Darshan Abhilashi Sanstha and an aide of the late Kuldeep Singh Wadala who had offered prayers for nearly 18 years for the opening of the corridor, demanded the removal of the condition requiring a passport to visit the shrine.

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Replace passport requirement

"The government should remove the condition of passport as a majority of people do not have it but they want to visit Kartarpur Sahib," he said. Once the condition was removed, the number of devotees would go up, he said, adding that the requirement of passport be replaced with other documents such as Aadhar or voter card. In the first three days after a grand opening of the corridor by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 9, just 897 devotees had visited Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.

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