Surjit Singh
surjit.singh@htlive.com
DERA BABA NANAK (GURDASPUR) : The opening of the Kartarpur Corridor next month has catapulted the hitherto sleepy town of Dera Baba Nanak, 65 km from Amritsar, as a port of trans-border pilgrimage, giving a fillip to the local economy and raising hopes of brighter days for the battle-battered border belt.
With India and Pakistan signing the agreement on Thursday to allow 5,000 Indian pilgrims a day to undertake visa-free visit to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, notwithstanding the chill in bilateral ties over Kashmir, local residents and entrepreneurs, particularly in the hospitality and travel sectors, are seeing the economic spinoff as a godsend.
There is a hitch though given the volatility of Indo-Pak ties. The corridor may have opened up opportunities and led to the tripling of real estate prices but the enthusiasm is yet to translate into land deals in the town that has remained in the shadow of neglect after being the theatre of two Indo-Pak wars in 1965 and 1971. The uncertainty in relations with the neighbouring country is to blame.
ONLY QUERIES, NO DEAL
“People wanting to buy land along the highway have contacted me since I’m in the revenue office. They check the price and seek advice but not a single case of sale of land has come to me so far,” says Kuldeep Singh, the tehsildar of Dera Baba Nanak.
Suba Singh, a farmer who owns 70 acres along the highway near Chandu Nangal village on the town’s outskirts, says, “Every two days, prospective investors come visiting. Some parties are even from Delhi and Mumbai. Most want to open hotels but nothing has been finalised. Both buyer and seller are reluctant. For instance, a landlord sought Rs 80 lakh per acre from a party but a few days later, another party offered him Rs 1.2 crore an acre. The price of the land has not been fixed yet.”
Suba Singh says there are fears that a wall may be built along the highway which would negate the purpose of building hotels there.
“It’s wait and watch. We are waiting to assess the response. We’ll know how much time pilgrims spend in town and if retail traders will benefit. The time for entering and exiting Pakistan through the corridor will be fixed so we don’t know if they stay here or leave. It will take a few months to understand things,” says Sukhdeep Singh Bedi, a descendent of Guru Nanak Dev and social worker.
TRADERS NEED STABILITY
Amritsar-based hotelier Surinder Singh says, “We are interested but there are doubts. Instances of the Samjhauta Express, Delhi-Lahore bus service and Indo-Pak trade being suspended after the tension in Kashmir are concerns. Will the corridor also be affected? Investors are in double mind.”
“A Delhi company wants to set up a tent city for pilgrims but investors are hesitant. They fear the money may go in vain given the situation”, he says.
Perneet Singh Bedi, the president of the local municipal council, says, “People think the atmosphere is cordial for opening the corridor on the occasion of the 550th Parkash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev, but things may get worse due to tension between the two countries. In such a situation, where do we go after investing crores?”
Sukhdeep Singh says, “At this stage, nobody knows how much land is to be acquired. A lot needs to be done as part of the corridor project. For instance, the land will have to be acquired for residential flats for employees of departments such as Customs, Border Security Force, army, intelligence agencies and immigration bureau. The land acquisition for these tasks is pending”.
“Secondly, this town has hardly got 10 such people who have enough to spend on commercial outlets or hotels. Of them, some are not interested or are not cut out for entrepreneurship. Unless an investor comes from outside, the town’s growth is not be possible,” he says.
CITIES TO BENEFIT
“The government has closed both sides of the highway to pave the way for the corridor. So nobody can go on or get off the highway from its sides. The investors have no option other than selecting a site at the point from where the highway starts and roads from Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Batala meet,” says the municipal council president. These cities are 55 km, 35 km and 20 km away from Dera Baba Nanak.
The sangat (pilgrims) visiting Kartarpur are less likely to stay in Dera Baba Nanak due to the online system of seeking permission. The hoteliers in Amritsar, Batala or Gurdaspur are likely to benefit.
He urged the government to open a manual permission application counter at Dera Baba Nanak.
Ashok Manan, who owns a transport firm that runs buses from Amritsar to Dera Baba Nanak, said he is willing to increase the number of buses on the route but it is up to the state government to allot permits.