Kartarpur corridor: Punjab CM asks ‘rich’ SGPC to bear $20 service fee

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday asked the Shirmonai Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to pay out of their own coffers the $-20 service fee being charged by Pakistan for visiting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib as very few pilgrims have taken the Kartarpur corridor since its inauguration.

Pointing to the “lavish spends” of the SGPC on holding separate programmes to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in Sultanpur Lodhi on Tuesday, Singh said it was evident that the religious body was flush with funds.

Singh said the low number of devotees crossing over to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib was not because of lack of interest but due to two conditions of passport and $-20 fee put by the neighbouring nation.