LAHORE: The Indian railway authorities on Sunday allegedly refused to receive a train from Pakistan, forcing 302 Sikh pilgrims to enter Lahore via Wagah Border on foot in the sweltering heat.

The Sikh pilgrims arrived here to participate in Jorr Mela from June 9 to 16.

According to Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) officials, a train was ready to be dispatched in the morning to Attari Railway Station to pick the pilgrims and drop them at Wagah (Lahore). “But the Attari station’s administration refused to receive it on the pretext of having no information about the train from the Indian authorities,” a senior ETPB official told Dawn.

He said since the pilgrims were set to reach Wagah at 10am according to schedule, they came at about 3pm after covering one to two kilometre distance on foot. “As soon as they started arriving at the border, we immediately shifted them to Wagah Railway Station by buses and served them with eatables and later took them to Lahore Railway Station,” the official said.

Talking about the reasons for not accepting the train by Indian authorities, he said 15 Sikh Gurdawara Management committees compiled a chart of the events in 2003, called Nanak Shahi Calendar and got it registered with its Akal Takht (a supreme council) in India. The council approved it, advising the community to follow it.

According to this, dates for the Jorr Mela were June 9 to 16 every year in Pakistan. Later, one of the committees introduced an amendment to the calendar in 2010 on its own, changing the festival’s dates from June 16 to 25. “But the rest of 14 committees didn’t follow it, terming the change illegal. So they continued following the old calendar. Since the Indian government recognises the amended version of the events, it always creates problems in receiving train from Pakistan every year.”

Asked as to why the ETPB avoided following the amended schedule, he said it was not possible as a majority of Sikh pilgrims declared June 9 to 16 actual days of the festival. “If we follow the Indian schedule, no one will come here,” he added. He said the pilgrims would depart Nankana for Hassan Abdal on June 11 and return Lahore on 13th. On June 15, they would go to Aimanabad and return again to Lahore on 16th.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2014