india

Updated: Aug 27, 2019 08:19 IST

The work on the four-lane highway, a bridge and a passenger terminal as part of the Kartarpur corridor in commemoration of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak is in full swing on the Indian side, with Pakistan recently announcing to complete the project in its territory by October.

Nearly 1,700 workers are working in different shifts round-the-clock to meet the completion deadline of the corridor, being opened to provide the Indian devotees an access to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, the last resting place of Sikhism’s founder.

The sub-structure of the bridge that will connect the corridor with the road from Dera Baba Nanak to Kartarpur is almost complete with work on fitting the concrete blocks left. Engineers supervising the work said 1,000 labourers are working on the 4.19 km highway and the bridge, being built at a cost of ₹120 crore. The rest are working on the terminal.

“More than 60% highway work is complete,” said Dera Baba Nanak sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Gursimran Singh Dhillon, who is tasked with overseeing the entire work daily.

An engineer said, “With this pace of work, we will easily meet the deadline. The work got affected due to Eid celebrations for a while but we have overcome the gap.”

The deadline for the completion of the highway is September 30, but the company engaged in its construction wants it to be October 15. October-end is the deadline for the completion of the passenger terminal being built on 15 acres at a cost of ₹500 crore. The terminal will have all public amenities to enable smooth passage of nearly 5,000 passengers daily.

At the terminal site, the pillars are still being erected. The terminal, which is part of the first phase of this project, is being built under the supervision of the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) and the Union home ministry.

State cabinet minister and Dera Baba Nanak MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa reiterated that the corridor will be inaugurated on November 8 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

PAK STARTS WORK ON BRIDGE

Pakistan has started work on building the bridge across the border by starting the process of soil sampling, examination of the nature of the soil before erecting a large structure. People on the Pakistan side were seen taking soil samples.

The bridge will be linked with that of India on the zero line. As the area along zero line on both sides is low-lying, India demanded the bridge be built across the border. Though Pakistan refused to meet the demand earlier, it agreed to this in the talks held between the two sides at the Wagah border on July 14.

CORRIDOR INAUGURATION: RANDHAWA MEETS SANT SAMAJ

Preparations for the inauguration of Kartarpur corridor started on Monday as Punjab jails and cooperation minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa held a meeting with anti-Badal Sant Samaj, which is led by Sarabjot Singh Bedi, and panchayats of the area.

Addressing the gathering of representatives of various Sikh religious organisations, Randhawa said the corridor will be inaugurated on November 8 and the function will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi apart from other dignitaries, including chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

“We have requested the Sant Samaj to organise religious events and langar for the devotees on the occasion. A tent city will be set up by the government for the devotees coming from across the world,” he said.

Replying to a query, he said the government will also send an invite to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and other religious organisations.