While the governments of India and Pakistan race to complete the environs of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor and the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur Sahib, Diaspora Sikh organisations have expressed concern over the destruction of the heritage around the place. World Sikh Organisation of Canada has sought preservation of the 104-acre fields tilled by Guru Nanak in his last years as it is. 

World Sikh Organisation of Canada has sent a request to the Government of Pakistan to preserve the 104 acres of fields surrounding Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara where Guru Nanak lived and farmed for 19 years.

The 5-point WSO request includes:

• The Kartarpur Sahib corridor and Kartarpur village environment, especially the flora and fauna, be protected, aligning with Clean and Green Pakistan.
• Any new construction to be planned at least a kilometre away from the current Gurdwara complex i.e. outside the 104 acres of preserved fields.
• The corridor roads stop at the outskirts of the preserved fields and only foot-trails connect the parking terminals with the main complex.
• There should be foot-trails throughout the corridor which should itself be with zero-emission transport mechanism for the disabled and the elderly.
• New facilities are designed in line with the tradition of the period architecture.

WSO has alleged that “since the announcement of the Kartarpur Corridor in November 2018, there has been substantial construction resulting in the stripping of land around the Kartarpur Gurdwara in the name of religious tourism. As of May 1, 2019, a construction work update shows the destruction of all fields and orchards and new construction for a water tank and residential buildings. Plans also include commercial buildings such as hotels and parking lots on the land where Guru Nanak’s fields existed.”

WSO president Mukhbir Singh explained, “The sanctity and serenity of the Kartarpur village as Guru Nanak envisioned and established is being damaged in the name of religious tourism.  This is deeply saddening to Canadian Sikhs. We hope that the natural and traditional state of the gurdwara will be retained as opposed to making it a standard marble structure, similar to what we see in East Punjab.”

Bhavjinder Kaur Dhillon, Senior VP of WSO, added, “Kartarpur Sahib was established by Guru Nanak himself as a living centre of faith, shared labour and ecology. We want our next generations to have the chance to come and experience the land the way it was established 500 years ago.”