Islamabad, June 6 Sindh Tourism Minister Zulfiqar Ali Shah on Thursday proposed the development of a Kartarpur-like religious corridor from contiguous areas of Gujarat and Rajasthan to Umarkot and Nagarparkar in his province to enable Hindu and Jain devotees to worship at ancient temples there, reports said.
He made this proposal at a tourism promotion event in Dubai, Geo News reported.
Shah contended that there were legions of Hindus and Jains willing to visit the areas in Sindh where there are scores of temples.
The Shri Shiv Mandir, considered one of the oldest Hindu temples in Sindh, is in Umarkot -- the only Hindu-majority district in Pakistan,
While the temple is believed to be constructed more than 2,000 years ago, a local Hindu community leader claimed that it was 5,000 years old.
It is managed by the All Hindu Panchayat, which apart from regular repairs and upkeep, has built a guesthouse, community hall, and various other amenities to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims every year.
Umarkot also has the Kali Mata Temple, the Krishna Mandir, and the Manhar Mandir Kathwari Mandir.
In Nagparkar, there are 14 Jain temples, mostly abandoned. They include the Gori Temple, noted for having some of the oldest existing Jain frescoes in the world and also venerated by local Hindus for its image of Parasnath, the Nagarparkar Bazaar Temple, the Bhodesar Temples at the base of the Karoonjhar Mountains, and an abandoned but well-preserved temple near Viravah town, and the ruins of the ancient Parinagar seaport on the edge of the Rann of Kutch.
Shah also suggested that the Sindh government could commence a weekly flight from India to Sukkur or Larkana as well for religious tourists.
The Kartarpur Corridor, inaugurated on November 9, 2019, stretches over 4 km from the Pakistan-India border and facilitates the visa-less visit of Indian pilgrims to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, where Sikhism founder Guru Nanak lived his final years.
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