The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) mentioned the Taj Mahal and different centrally protected monuments, which have been closed two months in the past within the wake of the second Covid-19 wave, will reopen on June 16. An ASI official mentioned that guests will be capable to ebook entry tickets on-line and no offline reserving facility will likely be obtainable.
“In view of the prevailing situation, it has been decided that all centrally protected monuments/sites and museums (under ASI) will be opened from 16.06.2021,” Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel mentioned in an order.
With the second wave of COVID-19 making its presence felt, the federal government had ordered the closure of all centrally protected monuments and museums, together with the Taj Mahal, Red Fort and Ajanta Caves, on April 15.
An order to this impact was issued by the ASI and later tweeted by Union Culture Minister Prahlad Patel. “Due to the prevailing COVID situation, it has been decided to close all centrally protected monuments, sites and museums under ASI with immediate effect and till May 15 or further orders,” the ASI mentioned.
Last yr the monuments have been closed for over 100 days below the nationwide lockdown.
The 3,691 centrally protected monuments and archaeological websites maintained by the ASI have been closed for guests on March 17 final yr. They have been allowed to reopen from 6 July, with a lower within the variety of guests. Some “interior or vulnerable” elements of the monuments remained out of vary for guests. Additionally, guests have been required to share their cellphone numbers on the entrance of the monuments for the needs of contact tracing, if required later.
Even as most different monuments have been opened, the Taj Mahal – India’s most-visited monument, which sees 70-80 lakh guests yearly – remained closed until the top of September because it was closed by district authorities. Accordingly, it got here below the “containment zone”. Even because it reopened, the variety of guests stood at 5,000 per day (in two slots), whereas different fashionable monuments numbered between 1,000 and 1,500.
Meanwhile, the Red Fort in Delhi has been closed since January 19 as circumstances of chicken flu have been reported contained in the premises, adopted by violence by protesters on January 26, inflicting in depth harm to its entry factors and ticket space.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
