The 20-foot well will be opened to the visitors after its restoration

The shrine of Guru Nanak Dev in Kartarpur. Image Credit: PTI

Lahore: A 500-year-old well, believed to have been built during the lifetime of the founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak Dev, has been discovered at the enclosure of 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, on the Kartarpur corridor, caretaker of gurdwara Sardar Gobind Singh told reporters.

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

“The well 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.

The year 2019 marks the 550th birth anniversary year of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, whose birthplace is Sri Nankana Sahib in Pakistan.

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 kilometres from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine.

The corridor will facilitate visa-free travel of Indian Sikh pilgrims to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.

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

“During the time of Baba Guru Nanak the water of this well was so sweet that the Sikh pilgrims believed that it was the gift of the founding leader and could rid them of ailments,” caretaker Singh said.

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

The stretch between the zero line to Baba Nanak’s shrine is being built by India.

On November 26 last year, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of the Dera Baba Nanak — Kartarpur Sahib Corridor (up to the International Border) at an event at Mann village of Gurdaspur district of Punjab.

On November 28, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone for the 4-kilometer corridor which is expected to be completed by 2019.