Tourist Entry at Taj Mahal to Be Capped at 40k/Day for 3 Hours Max
To preserve the heritage site, the ASI also plans to put a three-hour cap on each ticket holder to tour Taj Mahal.
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The Archaeological Survey of India is likely to restrict the number of tourists visiting the Taj Mahal to 40,000 daily, and put a three-hour cap on each ticket holder to tour the 17th-century Mughal monument in a bid to preserve the heritage site, a source in the culture ministry told PTI. The cap, which is supposed to be implemented from 20 January, however, holds no limit on the number of foreigner tourists visiting the site daily, reports the Times of India.
Culture Secretary Ravindra Singh held a high-level meeting with ASI officials and representatives of Agra district administration and officers of the Central Industrial Security Force, where the decision was taken.
As Times of India reports, the meeting was attended by ASI director general Usha Sharma, IGP (Agra) Raja Srivastava, Agra district magistrate Gaurav Dayal, CISF commandant (Agra) Brij Bhushan, ASI superintending archaeologist Bhuvan Vikram Singh, ASI ADG RS Lal, and deputy director (tourism) Dinesh Kumar, among others.
As of now, there is no restriction on the number of people entering the iconic monument complex at any point of time. The average footfall at the monument has increased at a rate of 10-15 percent per annum.
Many times, during peak tourist season and other occasions, the number of tourists inside the complex crosses 60,000 to 70,000 per day.
The ASI is also likely to introduce a system to issue "zero-value" tickets to children below the age of 15, enabling them to keep a count of the number of such visitors, whose entry will remain free.
The ASI had in 2012 commissioned the National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute (NEERI) to prepare a report on the monument's load-bearing capacity.
The decision to limit the number of visitors has been based on the final recommendation in the report submitted by NEERI, the officials said.
According to Times of India, it was also decided in the meeting that a new ticket, priced at Rs 100 for those wishing to enter the main crypt, would be introduced. It adds that for those who do not wish to enter the main crypt, they would only have to purchase a ticket worth Rs 50, ten rupees more than the original ticket priced at Rs 40 .
The report also mentions that the authorities will be carrying out a slot-system, where 20,000 Indian tourists will be allowed in the "first slot" – from sunrise till noon, while the next batch will be allowed to enter in the time-period between noon and sunset.
The Taj Mahal is considered one of the finest specimen of the Mughal architecture. In 1983, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."
(With inputs from PTI and Times of India)
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