Chandigarh, Aug 27 (IANS) The historic Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara, one of the holiest shrines believed to be the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh religion, has been partially submerged by floodwater of the Ravi river, reports said on Wednesday.
The gurdwara in Pakistan’s Narowal district is connected from the Indian side via the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor located at the Zero Point on the International Boundary.
The corridor in Gurdaspur district is partially submerged with floodwater, and the district administration has suspended its operation.
Visuals show the entire Kartarpur Sahib complex partially submerged with floodwaters entering the sanctum of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. Three to four feet of water is standing across the premises.
Media reports said the sacred Saroop of Guru Granth Sahib-ji and “sevadars” have moved safely on the first floor of the Darbar Sahib.
Local authorities have been making arrangements to evacuate “sevadars” if the situation worsens.
Waters had submerged fields and villages in the vicinity of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor. However, the residential areas were safe, officials said.
Located on the banks of the Ravi, the Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, originally known as Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, was built to commemorate the site where Guru Nanak settled after his missionary work.
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib was the place where Guru Nanak is believed to have lived for 18 years until he died in 1539.
Guru Nanak settled down in Kartarpur on his farm on the banks of the Ravi River, according to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SPGC), the body governing the affairs of the Sikh community.
Guru Nanak discarded the dress of a pilgrim and adopted the clothes of a householder.
Over centuries, the river Ravi shifted course, and the part of the farm where Guru Nanak passed away in 1539 is on the other side of the river in Pakistan, while Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak is on the Indian side of the border where Guru Nanak used to meditate daily.
In the gurdwara is preserved a chola (robe) which Guru Nanak received as a gift while visiting Mecca, the SGPC added.
The founder of Sikhism was born on April 15, 1469, at Rai-Bhoi-di Talwandi in Pakistan’s Shekhupura district, now Nankana Sahib.
The original structure of the Kartarpur Sahib was once destroyed by floods.
It was reconstructed by Bhupinder Singh, the then scion of Patiala and grandfather of former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
The shrine was closed to people coming from across India’s border after the partition in 1947. The gurdwara was opened to pilgrims after repairs and restoration in 1999, and Sikh jathas have been visiting the shrine regularly ever since.
A 500-year-old well, believed to have been built during the lifetime of Guru Nanak Dev, was discovered near the Kartarpur gurdwara in April.
The well was discovered while digging the enclosure of the shrine. Sikh ‘jathas’ from India travel to Pakistan on four occasions every year — Baisakhi, the martyrdom day of Guru Arjan Dev, the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and the birthday of Guru Nanak Dev.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Kartarpur Corridor in November 2019 when the first lot of 550 Indian pilgrims, led by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, visited the holy shrine across the border.
–IANS
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