Authorities in Punjab’s Gurdaspur on Thursday stopped pilgrims from travelling to the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan through the Kartarpur corridor, citing the rising water levels in the Ravi. Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal said that the administration has made a recommendation to the government to suspend the pilgrimage for two days.
The decision has been taken keeping the safety of the pilgrims in mind, he said. The Kartarpur corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev, to the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district.
On Wednesday, the water level in the Ravi River rose after 2.60 lakh cusecs of water were released into the Ujh River in Jammu. However, Aggarwal said the pilgrimage has been stopped as a precaution and made assurances that the Kartarpur corridor is not under the threat of flooding despite the rising water level in the river. “We have recommended the suspension of pilgrimage for the next two days,” he told reporters.