Chandigarh, Jul 1 (IANS): With Pakistan reopening its portion of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor, the Akal Takht and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Wednesday urged the Central government to reopen the Indian side of the corridor.

The acting jathedar of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, Giani Harpreet Singh, said: "On June 8, the government of India had opened all religious places. Our government should also open Kartarpur corridor for the Sikh sangat."

"I welcome the opening of the corridor by the Pakistan government. I also request the government of India to try to open the corridor as soon as possible while following the guidelines of the health department," said SGPC chief Gobind Singh Longowal.

Both were talking to the media after participating in a function at the Akal Takht secretariat in Amritsar.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh this week favoured the reopening of the Kartarpur corridor with adherence to the physical distancing norms amid the Covid-19 pandemic.