AMRITSAR: Ahead of 550th birth anniversary of

Guru Nanak

Dev and opening of much awaited Kartarpur corridor, the Pakistan government's

Evacuee Trust Property Board

(ETPB) department has launched an ambitious project of providing higher education to minority Sikh and Hindu students who are unable to continue their higher studies due to financial constraints.

"We want to develop the HR capital of our minorities and for the purpose we have launched Baba Guru Nanak Scholarship which will benefit the Hindu and Sikh students who are intermediate pass, bright and talented but can't afford to continue their studies due to financial reasons," said ETPB chairman Dr. Aamer Ahmed while talking to TOI on Friday.

Giving details, Aamer informed that each student who qualifies for the scholarship would get Rs 10000 per month for their academic year and if they wanted to continue their studies, the scholarship could be further extended depending upon their academic records.

Stating that scholarship scheme was launched in September and since then ten minority students had already been granted the scholarship benefits, the ETPB chairman informed "As our financial condition improves , we will not only increase the number of students but will also increase the scholarship amount given to them" .

Aamer said the unique feature of the scholarship was that it was not restricted to government schools only . "Any Hindu and Sikh student anywhere in Pakistan can apply for the scholarship, there are no lengthy forms or prerequisites, once they will apply , ETPB will get confirmation from their respective academic institution about their academic background and whether they are deserving and on the bases of that we will grant them scholarship" said he.

Meanwhile, the ETPB chairman informed that they had completely renovated the langar hall at

Gurdwara Janam Asthan

,

Nankana Sahib

ahead of arrival of pilgrims to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

"The renovated langar hall is spread in two floors and can serve langar to 1500 persons at a time, it is much ventilated, have separate cooking and washing areas , the food is transported to the first floor through a service lift" he said after inaugurating the langar hall.