Pakistan on Monday announced that the Kartarpur corridor will be opened to Indian Sikh pilgrims on November 9, PTI reported. The announcement was made by Project Director Atif Majid, who said that 86% of the work had been completed.

The corridor’s project director in Pakistan said that around 76 immigration counters had been set up for 5,000 pilgrims who will visit from India every day. He also said that for 10,000 pilgrims, 152 immigration counters would be set up. Initially 5,000 pilgrims will visit the shrine, but the number will eventually rise to 10,000, Majid claimed, according to PTI.

“The border terminal will be 350 meters from the zero point,” Majid said, according to ANI. “We will provide airport-like facilities.” The Kartarpur Zero Point is the point at which the Indian and Pakistani sides of the corridor will converge.

Meanwhile, India’s Additional Secretary of Home Ministry Govind Mohan, who had gone to Gurdaspur in Punjab to inspect the construction work, said the corridor will be open from November 11, according to ANI. “I come here in my capacity as the chairman of the Land Port Authority of India to inspect the work of the Kartarpur corridor on the Indian side of the border,” Mohan said. “The work would be completed within time.”

Mohan said that there were three major construction work done on the Indian side. A 3.5-km-long four-lane highway from Gurdaspur to the border was being constructed. “About 70 per cent of this work has been completed. It will be fully completed before October 31,” he said. Other work related to the project included the construction of a passenger terminal for the pilgrims and the deployment of troops, Mohan added.

The additional secretary visited the border area to oversee the construction work on the Pakistani side and later held a high-level meeting with Gurdaspur district officials.

India has reportedly shared a draft agreement on the Kartarpur Corridor with Pakistan. The two sides had failed to reach an agreement even after the third round of talks on September 4.

Last week, Islamabad had announced that it would charge pilgrims using the Kartarpur corridor $20 (approximately Rs 1,420.61) service fee. The country’s foreign ministry had clarified that it was not an entrance fee and was meant to cover 10% to 15% of the costs. India had described it as Pakistan’s “inflexible attitude”.

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