After remaining closed for tourists for due to Covid-19, the Taj Mahal will finally reopen on September 21 after a six-month gap.
(Taj Mahal file photo)
After remaining closed for tourists for due to Covid-19, the Taj Mahal will finally reopen on September 21 after a six-month gap.
Agra District Magistrate Prabhu N Singh said that the Agra Fort will also reopen, along with the Taj Mahal, on September 21 in full conformance with the Covid-19 protocols issued by the Centre as well as the UP government. Singh said that entry to the Taj Mahal has been limited to 5,000 tourists in a day while only 2,500 tourists will be allowed into the Agra Fort on a daily basis.
Former chairman of Agra Tourism Guild Arun Dang said that this is the first time in history when the Taj Mahal has remained closed for so long. “The extent of damage it has caused to the tourism industry of Agra is incalculable,” Arun Dang said.
Agra Tourist Welfare Chamber president Prahalad Agarwal said that before reopening the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, it is necessary that international flights and trains to the city resume.
Agra MP SP Singh Baghel said that when the main markets of the city are open then there is no point in keeping the Taj Mahal closed. “The closure of this monument has nearly destroyed the tourism industry of Agra and until it is reopened, there is no possibility of any improvement in the city’s economy,” Baghel said.
Notably, the Taj Mahal was among the country’s first public places to be closed in March due to the growing Covid-19 threat, even before the nationwide lockdown was announced. The reopening of the monument is expected to bring a large number of domestic tourists to Agra which could give some boost to the dead tourism sector of the city.
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