india

Updated: Apr 29, 2019 08:37 IST

A 500-year-old well, believed to have been built during the lifetime of the first Sikh master Guru Nanak, has been discovered near a gurdwara on the Kartarpur corridor which will facilitate easy passage of Sikh pilgrims to the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan.

The well was discovered while digging the enclosure of Gurdwara Dera Sahib, Kartarpur, some 125 kilometres from Lahore, said the shrine’s caretaker Sardar Gobind Singh.

The 20-ft well, made of small red bricks and believed to have been built during the lifetime of Guru Nanak, will be opened to the visitors after restoration, he said.

“The well (Khu sahib) is a boon for the Sikh pilgrims who would flock to the place on Baisakhi and other occasions and take away its sweet water. The water of the well had healing quality,” Singh said.

“It will also be a great attraction for the Indian Sikhs due here on the 550th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak,” he said.

Last November, both India and Pakistan agreed to set up the Kartarpur corridor to link the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib - the final resting place of Guru Nanak - in Pakistani town of Kartarpur with Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district.

Kartarpur Sahib is located in Pakistan’s Narowal district across the river Ravi, about four km from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine.

Pakistan has committed to open the corridor in November this year on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.

According to officials, some 50% of the development work on the four-kilometre stretch being built by Pakistan has been completed.