Taj Mahal Reopens As COVID-19 Restrictions Are Eased, 650 Visitors Allowed Inside At A Time
Taj Mahal and other monuments under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) which were shut due to the COVID-19 restrictions have reopened for tourists.
On Wednesday, the historic Taj Mahal reopened under strict COVID-protocols.
On Monday, the ASI had said that all centrally protected monuments, museums and sites closed for around two months due to the Covid pandemic will reopen from Wednesday.
Under strict COVID protocol
While 650 tourists will be allowed inside the Taj Mahal premises at one point of time so that COVID-19 protocols are followed, such restrictions will not be in place for other monuments, Agra District Magistrate Prabhu N Singh said.
Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Agra Circle, Vasant Kumar Swarnakar said that the monument premises will be sanitised three times a day.
"Masks will be mandatory for tourists. Thermal screening of tourists would be done at the gates and they would be sanitised before entering the monument premises," he added.
"The visitors would not be allowed to touch any object on the monument premises and they would have to follow social distancing norms," said Swarnakar.
"Tickets will only be booked online and no ticket counter will open," he said while advising tourists to bring their own water bottles and carry sanitisers.?
Tourists are back
Crowds were thin on the first day of the reopening.
"I am very glad I got to see it, it is amazing," gushed Brazilian visitor Melissa Dalla Rosa.
"I cried when I first saw, oh my God... (it was) a very special experience," she told AFP.
Lucky Feizan, 20, a shopkeeper, said the lockdown had squeezed hard those dependent on the Taj Mahal for their livelihood.
"This (was) the second wave of Covid. (With a) third I am finished," he told AFP.
While COVID-19 cases have significantly come down across India, in the past few weeks, many health experts have cautioned that a hurried opening up could spell disaster for the country.
Himachal Pradesh opened up for tourists
Last week, Himachal Pradesh had eased travel restrictions to the state and those with an e-pass were allowed to enter the state, even without a negative RT-PCR report.
This had resulted in a massive rush of tourists to the hill state.?According to the police during the weekend more than 5,000 cars had entered Shimla.
