Monuments that reopened to the public on Monday after being closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic wore a deserted look on the first day, with more media persons than visitors at the sites.
Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel had announced on July 2 that all Centrally protected monuments of the Archaeological Survey of India that were located outside containment zones would open starting Monday, subject to the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and Health and Family Welfare Ministry.
Keeping in view the safety of visitors and staff, the ASI had announced online-only ticket booking for restricted number of slots at each monument. The ASI’s ticket booking platform showed that only a handful of visitors booked for otherwise major tourist attractions like Qutub Minar and Humayun’s Tomb.
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At Purana Qila, which had 1,000 ticket slots available, no visitors were seen in the first half of the day. An ASI official at the site said two visitors had tried to buy the tickets by scanning the QR code displayed at the entrance, but had trouble with the online payment. Another couple from Jamia Nagar stood looking at the QR code around noon, but could not buy the tickets as address proof was required to complete the purchase. As a part of the reopening, addresses of visitors are being recorded to help in tracing of COVID-19 patients, in case there are infections connected to the sites.
Humayun’s Tomb fared better in comparison, with 16 tickets being sold in the first half of the day, according to an ASI official. However, a majority of those were bought by media persons. The monument receives about 5,000 visitors, of which 1,000 are foreign tourists, on a usual weekday, the official said. Instead of the usual long queues for tickets, visitors on Monday were greeted by security guards armed with thermal scanners, hand sanitisers and signages reminding them to wear a mask at all times inside the complex.