3,000 Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit Panja Sahib in Pakistan to celebrate Baisakhi

Nearly 3,000 Sikh devotees will be travelling to Pakistan from Delhi, through the Attari border on April 11 to celebrate Baisakhi at Panja Sahib shrine in Hasan Abdal city. 

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) President, Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Sunday, January 19, Sikh devotees will depart from New Delhi on April 11 to return on April 21.

DSGMC has also asked devotees who wish to undertake a pilgrimage to Gurdwara Panja Sahib on the occasion of Baisakhi, to deposit their passports with the authorities by February 15.

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Gurdwara Panja Sahib visit

The pilgrims will celebrate Baisakhi at the Sikh shrine in Pakistan on April 13 and 14, after which they will be en route for Nanakana Sahib, the birthplace of Sikh Guru Nanak Dev, through a special train on April 15 to worship at Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, Gurdwara Sacha Sauda, and Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore, before returning to Amritsar on April 21.

The DGMC has requested each pilgrim to pay visa processing fees of Rs 200 along with four latest passport size photographs and valid identity proof and Indian Passport with one-year validity.

Sirsa said that the submitted documents will be deposited with the External Affairs Ministry by February 25, which will then be forwarded to the Pakistan High Commission. The pilgrims will receive their visas after necessary inspection by Indian and Pakistan agencies, he added.

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Out of the total quota of 3,000 pilgrims to visit Panja Sahib, Punjab has been allocated a maximum quota of 1,800 pilgrims, followed by Delhi with 555 pilgrims, and Haryana with 200 pilgrims.

West Bengal has been allocated a minimum of five pilgrims, Bihar 14 and Jammu and Kashmir 40 pilgrims. The festival marks the formation of Khalsa Panth of warriors under Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.

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Hindu pilgrims from Pak visit Jagannath Temple

A group of 133 Hindu pilgrims from Pakistan on January 4, visited the Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha. The pilgrims included 70 male, 50 female, and 13 children, who reached a night before. They visited the Shree Jagannath Temple and took the blessings of the Trinity Lords.

The delegation left for Varanasi the following day, one of the members said, adding that they had left Pakistan on December 27. They visited Mathura before reaching Odisha.

"It was a long-cherished desire to have darshan of Lord Jagannath. We got the visa with much difficulty. We thank the Indian government for facilitating our visit," said a devotee from Pakistan.

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(With inputs from ANI)