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| April 09, 2007 | Monday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 20, 1428 |
4,000 Sikhs arrive
LAHORE, April 8: Around 4,000 Sikh pilgrims on Sunday arrived at Wagah by special trains on a 10-day visit to the country to celebrate Baisakhi.
Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) chairman Zulifqar Ali Khan, along with senior board officials, accorded a warm welcome to the visitors on their arrival at the Wagah railway station. Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee head Sardar Bishen Singh was also present.
The pilgrims are scheduled to attend week-long Baisakhi celebrations to be held at Gurdwara Punja Sahab, Hassanabdal. They will also visit Lahore, Nankana Sahab and other places they hold sacred, including Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib.
Later, they will proceed to Nankana Sahab, Gurdwara Janam Asthan and Tamboo Sahab to perform three-day rituals.
During their pilgrimage, they will also celebrate 308th birthday of Guru Gobind Singh.
The ETPB chairman told the media that around 13,000 Sikhs — 4,000 from India, 1,000 from Europe and 8,000 from Pakistan — would participate in the festival.
He said the government had made elaborate arrangements to ensure provision of maximum facilities to the pilgrims including those pertaining to immigration, their boarding, lodging and security. The government was spending Rs140 million for the purpose, he added.—APP
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