Touch Me Not? Soon You’ll have to Admire Taj Mahal from a Metre Away
Mangaluru: The Archaeological Survey of India is planning on preventing visitors from touching the Taj Mahal as physical pressure is degrading the monument. In a desperate attempt to save the Taj Mahal from further degradation, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is coming up with a new plan— no touching the monument anymore. The idea behind the plan is to prevent pollution of the Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to immortalise his love for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The monument, which is listed as one of the world’s wonders, and a UNESCO heritage site, has often been in the news owing to the pollution that has taken a toll on it. While acid rain and pollution are considered the prime reasons for the yellowing of this marble mausoleum, the ASI is finally taking strict action against the menace of tourists touching the monument.
While ASI has resorted to mud therapy—usage of ‘multani mitti’ to preserve the white colour of the marble, it is now planning to cordon off the Taj Mahal with one-metre steel barricades so that a distance is maintained between the visitors and the walls of the Taj Mahal. The ASI is mooting the plan as they believe that the physical pressure of tourists touching the marble has caused a lot of damage.
Previously, a parliamentary committee on science and technology and environment and forest had felt the need of having 24-hour power supply in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) — a 10,400 sq km defined area around the Taj Mahal – to protect the 17th Century marble monument from pollution. This was to prevent the usage of diesel generators which cause air pollution in the TTZ around the Taj.