Devotees throng BSF outpost to view Kartarpur Gurudwara

Amritsar: An outpost of the Border Security Force (BSF) on the Pakistan frontier here is thronged by scores of devotees daily.

They visit the Viewers' Gallery at the outpost to have a glimpse, using binoculars, of a white-coloured gurdwara located in Pakistan.

The shrine is Kartarpur Sahib gurudwara, situated in Narowal area of Pakistan's Punjab Province.

The gurdwara building is visible on clear days from the elevated Viewers' Gallery.

"Suddenly, the flow of people has increased here. On weekends and holidays, there is a huge rush and sometimes it is difficult to manage," a BSF official posted at the gallery told IANS.

Enthusiasm among the devotees is growing against the backdrop of a corridor being built to enable pilgrims to visit the highly revered Kartarpur Sahib gurudwara where Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev spent 18 years of his life and is his final resting place.

"For us, the upcoming corridor is a link that takes our faith and devotion closer to the God," said octogenarian Mahinder Pal Singh, one the visitors to the Viewers' Gallery.

Devotees, especially the Sikhs, have been demanding for over 70 years a visa-free "khule darshan" (free obeisance facility) at the gurdwara for all faiths, from India and overseas, all seven days a week.

Work on the project is at an advance stage and the corridor is targeted to be ready by October 31, a week before the celebrations to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.