Arrangements for Baisakhi Festival reviewed

LAHORE: A meeting at Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) was held to review the arrangement for the visiting Sikh pilgrims on the occasion of Baisakhi Festival.

The ETPB has started the groundwork for free food distribution, accommodation, medical and travel facilities for the Sikh pilgrims, said a spokesperson for ETPB. Additional Secretary Shrines Tariq Wazir Khan told the meeting that Baisakhi Mela was a religious festival in Sikhism. To participate in the festival, more than 3,000 Indian Sikh pilgrims will reach Pakistan on April 12 through Wagah where the high-ups of ETPB and other government officials will welcome them.”

He said they would be driven to Gurdwara Panja Sahib at Hassan Abdal the same day. The main ceremony of Bhog Akhand Paath, a common practice of continuous recitation without any break of sacred religious texts in Sikhism, will be held in Gurdwara Panja Sahib on April 14 and the Sikh pilgrims from all around the world would also celebrate the ‘Khalsa Janam Din’ here,” he added.

He said the Sikh pilgrims would leave for Gurdwara Janam Asthan, Nankana Sahib, on April 15. They will also visit the Gurdwara Sacha Sauda, Farooqabad, on April 17, he said. On April 18, they will visit the Gurdwara Dehra Sahib Sri Guru Arjan Dev, Lahore, and on April 19. The pilgrims will visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur and Gurdwara Rori Sahib, Aimenabad.”

According to the schedule, the pilgrims from India return to India on 22 April. The meeting was also attended by the officers from Pakistan Army, Rangers, Punjab Police and FIA.