The historic Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, adjoining the Ravi in Pakistan’s Narowal district was submerged in floodwater on Wednesday morning after heavy rain in the region forced the authorities to release excessive water from the Ranjit Sagar Dam in Pathankot district.
Visuals from across the border showed the gurdwara and adjoining fields submerged in up to seven feet of water from the overflowing river. The gurdwara is connected to the holy town of Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district by the 4.5-km Kartarpur Sahib Corridor.
While the unprecedented rise in water level in the river flooded the langar hall, parikrama, sarovar, and serais in five to seven feet of water, the holy saroop of Guru Granth Sahib, which is on the second floor of the gurdwara, is safe, gurdwara sources said. Thus, the holy saroop is safe. Other scriptures, including the gutka (handy book of Gurbani), are safe too and under the supervision of the sevadars working there.
This is the first time that the Ravi river has inundated the gurdwara, situated 4km from the India-Pakistan border, since the Kartarpur Corridor was opened on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2019. However, the corridor was closed from India in May when Operation Sindoor was launched to destroy terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam attack that claimed 26 lives.
The corridor provides Sikh pilgrims in India visa-free access to the shrine under a bilateral agreement. The last batch of the pilgrims visited the shrine on May 7.
{{/usCountry}}The corridor provides Sikh pilgrims in India visa-free access to the shrine under a bilateral agreement. The last batch of the pilgrims visited the shrine on May 7.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the fields in the vicinity of zero line are submerged with the Ravi flowing over the dhussi bundh, leaving the danger of flood looming over Dera Baba Nanak town.