Pay more to enter Taj Mahal’s main mausoleum
Visitors from today, have to pay another Rs 200 to enter the main mausoleum, that has replicas of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal’s graves. This will implemented from Monday,” informed Vasant Kumar Swarnkar, superintending archaeologist, Agra circle, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). As per the recommendation of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), a study on Taj’s load-bearing capacity and suggested immediate steps to reduce the number of footfalls into the mausoleum to protect its integrity.
For the domestic tourists, their overall ticket price will increase by five times (Rs 250), if they wish to visit the mausoleum. Meanwhile, foreign tourists and visitors from SAARC nations, who were already paying higher entry charges of Rs 1,100 and Rs 540, will also have to shell out Rs 200 more if they want to enter the main mausoleum, taking their overall ticket prices to Rs 1,300 and Rs 740 respectively.
However, these are inaccessible to visitors throughout the year, barring the three days of Shah Jahan’s ‘Urs’ when the way to the basement is unlocked for devotees to pay obeisance to the Mughal emperor.
Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma had a few months ago had indicated imposing such tariff saying the move aims to “preserve the Taj Mahal” and for a better crowd management. We need to preserve the Taj Mahal for the generations to come,” The Supreme Court had recently directed the Uttar Pradesh Government to submit a vision document on the preservation of the monument within four weeks.
Early this year the Indian Government restricted 40,000 visitors at Taj Mahal daily, a landmark decision was taken in order to preserve the monument from the load of visitors.
The Taj Mahal is one of the Seven Wonders of the World which is considered as the most photogenic destinations of India. It is one of the most exquisite structures ever built by any emperor. It was constructed by the fifth Mughal emperor in the fond memory of his favorite wife Mumtaj Mahal. The Taj Mahal in terms of architecture, is one of the most symmetrical structures in the world, constructed using pure white marble and adorned with precious and semi precious stones. The construction started in 1631 and got completed in 1653 AD; 20,000 workers worked day and night together for 22 years.
No comments:
Post a Comment