LAHORE: Pakistan has finally completed a 420-metre long bridge on the Kartarpur Corridor Zero Line after a delay of two and a half years, an official said on Tuesday.
Kartarpur Management Unit Deputy Secretary Saifullah Khokhar explained that the need for the Kartarpur bridge arose due to the sensitivity of the zero-line area to flooding, stressing the importance of creating a safe passage for visitors to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.
"We have completed our part of the bridge on the zero-line Kartarpur corridor. Now it is up to India to complete its part of the bridge, especially the disputed 10 feet bridge," he said.
“It will become operational once the bridge on the Indian side is completed,” Khokhar said.
Earlier, flood incidents had disrupted the movement of visitors to Kartarpur Sahib.
The first deadline to complete the construction of the 420 meter long bridge was December 2021. However, the construction work was temporarily halted due to some financial constraints and political issues.
The Public Development Fund funded the project with an estimated cost of PKR 4.53 million. Frontier Works Organization (FWO) and National Engineering Services of Pakistan (NESPAK) collaborated to complete the construction.
In November 2019, Pakistan's then Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the Kartarpur Corridor at a ceremony, paving the way for Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit one of their religion's holiest sites in Pakistan without the need for a visa .
The 4 kilometer long Kartarpur Corridor connects Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in the Indian state of Punjab.
Khan has been in jail since August last year in multiple cases filed against him by the military-backed Shehbaz Sharif government.
Kartarpur Management Unit Deputy Secretary Saifullah Khokhar explained that the need for the Kartarpur bridge arose due to the sensitivity of the zero-line area to flooding, stressing the importance of creating a safe passage for visitors to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib.
"We have completed our part of the bridge on the zero-line Kartarpur corridor. Now it is up to India to complete its part of the bridge, especially the disputed 10 feet bridge," he said.
“It will become operational once the bridge on the Indian side is completed,” Khokhar said.
Earlier, flood incidents had disrupted the movement of visitors to Kartarpur Sahib.
The first deadline to complete the construction of the 420 meter long bridge was December 2021. However, the construction work was temporarily halted due to some financial constraints and political issues.
The Public Development Fund funded the project with an estimated cost of PKR 4.53 million. Frontier Works Organization (FWO) and National Engineering Services of Pakistan (NESPAK) collaborated to complete the construction.
In November 2019, Pakistan's then Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the Kartarpur Corridor at a ceremony, paving the way for Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit one of their religion's holiest sites in Pakistan without the need for a visa .
The 4 kilometer long Kartarpur Corridor connects Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in the Indian state of Punjab.
Khan has been in jail since August last year in multiple cases filed against him by the military-backed Shehbaz Sharif government.
