Those visiting Taj Mahal will have to shell out extra from April 1 as the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to introduce ₹200 charge for seeing the main mausoleum and also raise the entry fee to ₹50 from ₹40.
At a media briefing, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said the changes have been effected to “preserve Taj Mahal” and for a better crowd management.
As of now, there is no separate fee for entry to the main mausoleum.
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“We need to preserve Taj Mahal for the generations to come. New ‘barcoded’ tickets would cost ₹50 instead of the earlier ₹40 and it would be valid only for three hours,” he said. “A separate ticket of ₹200 will be needed to enter into the main mausoleum to ensure the protection of the area and better crowd management.”
A recent report by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), which conducted a study on Taj Mahal’s load-bearing capacity, recommended immediate steps to reduce the number of footfalls into the mausoleum to protect its integrity.
“We thought capping the number of tourists per day was not a viable option, but we had to do something. The hike in prices is not to generate revenue, but to ensure that only people who are genuinely interested enter the area,” the Minister said.
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The Supreme Court recently directed the government to submit a vision document on the preservation of the monument within four weeks.
Mr. Sharma said the Ministry had taken special steps to ensure comfort for foreign tourists who pay ₹1,250 for entering Taj Mahal. Separate queues, separate toilets, and a safe corridor will be built for them from the Agra railway station to Taj Mahal in collaboration with the Ministry of Aviation and the Road Transport Ministry.
For ending “lapka culture [culture of touts]”
The Minister pointed out that the government had spoken to the authorities concerned to stop “lapka culture [culture of touts]” around Taj Mahal. “We are exploring how we can bring this ‘lapka culture’ to an end by bringing them under the ambit of serious offences and organised crime so that they can be booked accordingly. First, we will warn them, then we will identify them and then we will punish them...We want to bring this in by April 1. These touts are a menace,” he said.
The Minister observed that his stand on touts was not just restricted to protection of tourists at Taj Mahal, but also across places of tourist interest around the country.
Mr. Sharma, who met senior Agra district authorities recently, said many tourists, both domestic and foreign, who visit Taj Mahal were ''ambushed'' at the railway station itself and the harassment continued during their stay in the city.
One of the seven wonders of the world, Taj Mahal was commissioned in 1632 by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
The monument was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”.