Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, at a press conference in New Delhi, said, “The government has decided to celebrate the anniversary (Guru Nanak Jayanti) in a grand way.” He announced that the corridor will be built because Guru Nanak Dev had spent 18 years of his life there and pilgrims go to the border in large numbers to pay their homage to Nanak. It will provide a smooth passage to the pilgrims wishing to visit the gurdwara.
Jaitley assured that the corridor will be built with facilities similar to those of an international airport with the facility of telescopic points to see the gurdwara for those who are not able to travel across the border. The corridor will be 3-4 kilometer long and will be funded entirely by the Centre.
Besides the corridor, Centre is also planning to develop Sultanpur Lodhi, the birthplace of Guru Nanak as a heritage town with all the facilities of a smart city. A special facility called Pind Baba Nanak Da will be developed which will depict the life and teachings of Guru Nanak.
The government will also set up a centre for interfaith studies in Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
Also special programmes will be aired both on Doordarshan and All India Radio to propagate Nanak’s teachings.
Apart from this, the government has asked National Book Trust to publish books on Guru Nanak’s life and teachings in all Indian languages. The government will also request UNESCO to get these books translated into world languages as well.