Agra: The Taj Mahal will reopen on Monday after being closed for nearly six months due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
A maximum of 5,000 visitors will be allowed entry into the iconic monument per day, with social distancing and other government to be strictly followed.
Entry tickets will have to be booked online from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) website or mobile app. There will be no counter sales of tickets as of now.
“Taj Mahal and Agra Fort will reopen for tourists from Monday. Ticket sale will be online and the Taj will remain closed on Fridays. Protocol for COVID-19 will be followed while allowing tourists inside the monument,” said Agra district magistrate Prabhu N Singh.
Visitors will be let in in two slots — pre-lunch (2500 people) and post-lunch (another 2500). Once tickets for the first slot are sold, tickets for second slot will be issued.
ASI conservation assistant for Taj Mahal AN Gupta said not more than five visitors will be allowed at a time within the main mausoleum which houses the graves of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel will be stationed at a distance to check visitors with hand-held metal detectors.
The Taj was closed during the Second World War and also the wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. But this is the longest that this ‘Wonder of the World’ has been shut down.
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