Taj Mahal, Red Fort and other monuments to reopen for the public from July 6
Posted on July 3, 2020 by Ghoomophiro
People can now revisit their favorite monuments Including the Taj Mahal and Delhi’s Red Fort after a long lockdown of almost 3 months. Union Culture Ministry came up with the decision to reopen the Taj Mahal as well as other ASI monuments from July 6. Tourism industry captains in Agra came up with this idea to give some pace to their sector.
Disperse opinions on call for opening the monuments!
Government and authorities from the tourism sector have already begun with the arrangements while a few others are still skeptical about this decision. Many health activists think that it is a bit little early to start as COVID infection is not yet under complete control.
The latest tweet from Union Culture Minister, Prahlad Singh indicated opening up of ASI monuments after following proper SOPs on the same. On the contrary, social activist Shravan Kumar raised a query, “When trains are not running and international flights have not resumed, from where and how the tourists will come to Agra which does not boast of international standard health infrastructure.”
To this question, ASI officials have given a very clear indication that the entry of visitors is possible only after they comply with the list of SOPs and other mandatory guidelines. The tourism industry is suffering through major drawbacks after COVID- 19 menaces. Local guides are hoteliers who are suffering the most due to this. Therefore, they urged at the resumption of domestics flights to Agra and also international flight transfers via other connecting airports in the country. September last is the time when tourists mount at these famous Indian monuments.
Tourism industry all set to fight the Lockdown Blues!
Big hotels are already bucked up to finalize the repair work and upgrade their properties with sanitization and hygiene standards. Government SOPs include important norms for tourist accommodation and the management has to take it in utmost consideration.
Captain of the tourism industry, Akhilesh Dubey has made a demand to reopen the monuments as people were suffering through job loss and economic hardships. As per his statement, the risk factor is manageable after following the SOPs and managing the visitors at the monuments. If the hotels, malls, and other public areas can open up, even monuments could re-open. Agra is also a popular travel weekend destination for domestic travelers and people visit here frequently via taxis and cabs. After the new re-opening of Eiffel Tower since June 25, the tourism industry in India is also showing confidence to boost their businesses.
Around 7 million tourists visit the Taj Mahal every year. Kids below 15 can enter free of cost. Taj Mahal remains non-functional on Fridays. The mesmerizing complex of this monument looks fresh and pollution-free and is ready to welcome the guests.
ASI has given an allowance to visit 5,000 tourists daily amongst which 2,500 can visit in the morning and remaining in the second shift. Face masks, sanitizers, and social distancing are to be diligently taken care of as per the government regulations.
Non-permit of group photography is an essential guideline on the list. Also, the monuments in the containment zone cannot resume their operations.
