Agra district magistrate Prabhu N Singh said that only 650 people will be allowed inside the monument at one point of time in order to ensure all Covid-protocols are followed. Teams will be deployed to monitor the crowd at all times, he added.
Taj Mahal, which was closed for two months due to the raging second wave of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, is set to reopen. It was first closed on March 17 last year during the first wave of the pandemic. It reopened on September 21, 2020 with several restrictions.
However, the historic monument in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra was again closed on April 16 this year as the country witnessed its worst health crisis due to the second wave and was adding a record surge in daily cases and deaths.
Here are the guidelines which are to be followed by people visiting Taj Mahal:
1. Agra district magistrate Prabhu N Singh said on Tuesday that only 650 people will be allowed inside the monument at one point of time in order to ensure all Covid-protocols are followed. Teams will be deployed to monitor the crowd at all times, he added.
2. Taj Mahal will be sanitised three times a day, superintending archaeologist, ASI, Agra Circle, Vasant Kumar Swarnakar told news agency PTI on Tuesday
3. Only online booking will be allowed and no ticket counter in the premises will be open, Swarnakar said. Meanwhile, Agra district magistrate Singh said people can only book five tickets via one phone number.
4. It is mandatory for all visitors to wear masks. They will be thermal screened at the gates of the monument and would be sanitised before entering.
5. Swarnakar added that visitors will have to follow social distancing and they are not allowed to touch any object inside the monument. He also advised visitors should also carry their own water bottles and hand sanitisers.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) issued an order where it allowed all centrally protected monuments, museums and sites to re-open from June 16. With this, a total of 3,693 monuments and 50 museums will open across the country.
“Today @MinOfCultureGoI has given approval to @ASIGoI to duly open all the monuments of India from 16 June 2021. Tourists can visit the monuments following Covid rules. Good luck to all,” minister of state of culture and tourism,Prahlad Singh Patel tweeted on Monday.
Meanwhile, India saw a slight increase in its daily coronavirus disease tally after 62,224 new cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, taking the caseload to 29,633,105, according to the Union health ministry. The death toll has climbed to 379,573 after 2,542 people succumbed to the viral disease.