Ravi flooded at Indo-Pak border in Punjab's Gurdaspur, Kartarpur corridor closed

The pilgrimage to Gurudwara in Pakistan through the Kartarpur corridor has been suspended due to a rise in water level in river Ravi at Zero line in Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab's Gurdaspur. The zero line at International Border has been submerged as the water level has risen after 2.8 cusec water was released in the Ujh river in Jammu following heavy rains. The authorities of the Indian and Pakistan sides decided not to take any chance after witnessing the rising water in Ravi and suspended the pilgrimage till Saturday. The decision was taken yesterday and pilgrims were not allowed to move beyond the check-post.

Check post of Kartarpur corridor is located in Dera Baba Nanak and pilgrims to travel for 5kms from zero line across the Ravi river to reach Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib. Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal said that they have informed pilgrims regarding the flood situation at zero line and also informed them about the suspension of pilgrimage. He added that the pilgrims who were reached were allowed to pay obeisance from Darshan Sthal through binoculars installed at zero line but further asked people not to visit till Saturday.

"To avoid any untoward incident, both sides have decided to suspend the pilgrimage of the holy shrine in Pakistan through the Kartarpur corridor. The pilgrimage has been suspended till Saturday as the situation is uncertain due to overflowing Ravi at zero line. We will examine the situation on Saturday before opening the corridor for pilgrims," DC Gurdaspur Himanshu Aggarwal said.

Meanwhile, the farmers having cultivated land beyond the barbed fence claimed that crops have been damaged due to floods. Overflow of Ravi River stopped flowing towards Indian territory as the administration had already made embankments at certain points to stop the water flow. As the Ravi is overflowing at zero line, BSF and local administration, and police are deployed to deal with the uncertainty. However, the administration has already sounded the alert in villages nearby the international border and prepared them for evacuation.