Pleased to re-open Kartarpur Corridor after 1.5 years: Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Modi on Friday said that it is pleasing that the Kartarpur Corridor has re-opened after a gap of one and half years.In the address to the nation, the prime minister also extended greetings to the people on the occasion of Dev Deepawali and Prakash Parv."I extend my greetings to all on the occasion of Dev Deepawali and Prakash Parv. It is pleasing that the Kartarpur Corridor has re-opened after a gap of 1.5 years," said PM Modi. "Guru Nanak ji had said 'Vich Duniya Sev Kamaiye, Taan Dargah Baisan Paiyeea'. It means that only by taking the path of service to the nation can life turn out well. Our government has been working with this sense of service, to make the lives of people easy," he said.Prime minister also announced repealing of three central farm laws and said, "We have decided to repeal all 3 farm laws, will begin the procedure at the Parliament session that begins this month. I urge farmers to return home to their families and let's start afresh."Guru Nanak Jayanti, also known as Guru Nanak Gurpurab, celebrates the birth of the first Sikh Guru and is considered one of the most sacred festivals among Sikhs. The day is celebrated on the full moon day of the Kartik month as per the Hindu calendar. It is also marked as Kartik Poornima.In a major decision, Modi-led government decided to re-open the Kartarpur corridor from 17 November. It was shut in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The visa-free 4.7-kilometre long corridor joins the Indian border to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan. It became operational in 2019.More than 20 months after the Kartarpur corridor was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a jatha of Sikh pilgrims from India crossed over to Pakistan on Wednesday ahead of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.Pakistan had issued around 3000 visas to Indian Sikh pilgrims on the eve of the 552nd birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev from 17-26 November.Earlier in this year, Pakistan has denied permission to Sikh pilgrims from India on two occasions in June this year-- one on the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev Ji and the second on the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji, the MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.Visas of the Sikh pilgrims have been issued under the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974, which provides for the visit of Sikh pilgrims from India to Pakistan for the birthday celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak.The 1974 Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines between India and Pakistan is a set of principles that was implemented while keeping in view the sentiments and devotion of the various communities in the two countries.With inputs from ANI