Nankana Sahib

Nankana Sahib, also known as Raipur is a City in the province of Punjab. Located at 31°26'51N 73°41'50E - about 75 kilometres west of Lahore and about 55 kilometres East from Faisalabad,[1] with a population of almost 160,000 [2], it is also the capital of Nankana Sahib District. It is known as the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, and is a popular pilgrimage site.

Holy places
The town has nine gurdwaras including the Gurdwara Janam Asthan which marks the birth place of Guru Nanak Dev. Each of the gurdwaras is related with important events in Guru Nanak's life. Annually, approximately 25,000 Sikh pilgrims visit the town[3], with about 15,000 gathering during the peak season around the birthday celebrations of Guru Nanak.

Administration
The area around Nankana Sahib was formerly a tehsil of Sheikhupura District. In May 2005, the provincial government decided to raise the status of Nankana Sahib to that of a district [4] as a way of promoting development in the area. Now Nankana Sahib is a District.

Development
The state government has developed plans [5] to develop Nankana Sahib with various projects including a rest house for Sikh pilgrims, a new hotel, a shopping mall, a housing scheme, a modern hospital and a roadlink to the Lahore and Faisalabad dual-Carriage way. A trans-national bus link is proposed that would operate between Nankana Sahib and Amritsar of Indian Punjab.