Kartarpur corridor: Ram Nath Kovind, Amarinder Singh to lay foundation stone in Gurdaspur on 26 November

New Delhi/Chandigarh: President Ram Nath Kovind and Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh will lay the foundation stone of the Kartarpur corridor at Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur on 26 November, the Punjab government said. The decision to build the corridor from Dera Baba Nanak to the International Border was taken on Thursday morning at a meeting of the Union Cabinet. The chief minister said the development of the corridor will facilitate lakhs of pilgrims from India to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur on the banks of the Ravi river in Pakistan, where Guru Nanak Dev spent 18 years. [caption id=“attachment_4826451” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of President Ram Nath Kovind. PTI[/caption] Singh, in an official statement, also welcomed the decision of the Pakistan government to allow the pilgrims to visit Kartarpur on the occasion of the 550th ‘Parkash Purb’ of Guru Nanak Dev and said this gesture could go a long way in improving relations between the two countries. After the decision of the Union government to build the Kartarpur corridor, Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tweeted, “Prime Minister Imran Khan will break ground at Kartarpura facilities on 28 November.” Meanwhile, in a letter, Union home secretary Rajiv Gauba has asked the state government to make all preparations for the foundation laying ceremony on 26 November. Gauba has also written to Yudhvir Singh Malik, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, seeking necessary steps for preparation of the project and for laying the foundation stone, the statement said. A copy of the letter has been sent to the Punjab chief secretary with the request to extend all possible cooperation and support for the project and to the Director General of Border Security Force.