Monday, February 6, 2012

PETPB will open Gurdwara Babe Ki Ber for Sikh jathas on Baisakhi: Sarna

AMRITSAR: For the first time, Sikhs of India would be able to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Babe ki Ber, Sialkot, Pakistan. Delhi Sikh Gurdwar Management Committee (DSGMC) presidentParamjit Singh Sarna, who spoke to TOI on Sunday after his return from Pakistan, saidPakistan Evacuee Trust Property Board (PETPB) has agreed, in principal, to renovate and open the complex for Sikh jathas from India.

"It will be a historic occasion, when a Sikh jatha from India will pay obeisance at Gurdwara Babe ki Ber on this Baisakhi," he said.

Gurdwara Babe Di Ber is situated near the banks of Aik stream, along the Sialkot-Pasrur road in Pakistan. During his visit to Sialkot, first Sikh master Guru Nanak Dev had stayed outside the town under a Ber tree. The gurdwara holds significance for Sikhs. The Akali movement which started in 1920, by the Kartar Singh Jhabbar-led Singh Sabha, chose Babe ki Ber as the first shrine for reform.

Sarna said DSGMC had also asked PETPB to construct a gurdwara at Chandu di Haveli, which is also known as Lal Haveli. The Haveli is associated with the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev. "It is in a dilapidated condition," he said.

DSGMC has become the first Indian Sikh body to get the management and renovation as well as booking rights of around 200-bed sarai, made with the contribution of Sikhs of Delhi and those in foreign countries, at Gurdwara Tambu Sahib, Nanakana Sahib, Pakistan, he added.

with thanks : TOI : link in headline for detailed news.

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