Five days of moonlit Taj
AGRA, 22 JAN. The lenient view adopted by the Supreme Court on the alleged security lapses during the moonlit viewing of the Taj Mahal during the past two months has made the Agra tourism industry "feel good" after a long time.
For the first time in the experimental three-month night viewing of the Taj Mahal, will be able to view the Taj Mahal for the entire duration of five nights, unhampered by fog as the Meteorological Department has predicted that though the skies shall remain overcast, the visibility shall remain sufficient to provide a clear view of the monument.
Meanwhile, Ricardo Lagos, the president of Chile, is expected to visit the Taj Mahal on Saturday, though in the daytime. Talking to The Pioneer, Ashok Jain, chairman of Touraids (India), an Agra based travel agency said that the Supreme Court's decision has come as a respite for the tourist trade of Agra as most travel agencies had already planned their year-long itinerary with the night opening of the Taj Mahal in mind and if the monument had been shut down due to the alleged security flaws, it would have seriously hurt the interests of the tourism industry of Agra, which earns millions of US dollars every year for the country's exchequer. He said that if this attraction becomes a permanent feature of Agra, even the VVIPs who visit Agra only to view the Taj Mahal, shall also opt to view the Taj during night, instead of day.
Rakesh Chauhan, president of Agra Hotel & Restaurants Owners Association said that at present, tourists are coming to Agra at the rate of almost 40 thousand a day and the attraction of Taj Mahal's night-viewing shall make these tourists plan to stay overnight in Agra, thereby raising the revenue earned by the hospitality industry of Agra for the five nights of Taj's moonlit opening.
Elaborating on the revised security arrangements made by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), S.K. Sharma, Asst. Conservator, ASI Agra said that after the "objections" made by the court commissioner in the Supreme Court, the ASI has decided to make the display of a photo-identity compulsory for the tourists in order to purchase a night-view ticket to make sure that the ticket is not being purchased by people using aliases which could pose a security threat to the monument.
He said that this way, it will be ensured that the ticket has only been purchased by a genuine tourist, not by an anti-social element or a tout intending to resell the ticket at a premium.
He said that the tickets for Taj's night viewing will be sold from January 23 and for the first time, the monumentwill be opened for five consecutive nights.
For the first time in the experimental three-month night viewing of the Taj Mahal, will be able to view the Taj Mahal for the entire duration of five nights, unhampered by fog as the Meteorological Department has predicted that though the skies shall remain overcast, the visibility shall remain sufficient to provide a clear view of the monument.
Meanwhile, Ricardo Lagos, the president of Chile, is expected to visit the Taj Mahal on Saturday, though in the daytime. Talking to The Pioneer, Ashok Jain, chairman of Touraids (India), an Agra based travel agency said that the Supreme Court's decision has come as a respite for the tourist trade of Agra as most travel agencies had already planned their year-long itinerary with the night opening of the Taj Mahal in mind and if the monument had been shut down due to the alleged security flaws, it would have seriously hurt the interests of the tourism industry of Agra, which earns millions of US dollars every year for the country's exchequer. He said that if this attraction becomes a permanent feature of Agra, even the VVIPs who visit Agra only to view the Taj Mahal, shall also opt to view the Taj during night, instead of day.
Rakesh Chauhan, president of Agra Hotel & Restaurants Owners Association said that at present, tourists are coming to Agra at the rate of almost 40 thousand a day and the attraction of Taj Mahal's night-viewing shall make these tourists plan to stay overnight in Agra, thereby raising the revenue earned by the hospitality industry of Agra for the five nights of Taj's moonlit opening.
Elaborating on the revised security arrangements made by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), S.K. Sharma, Asst. Conservator, ASI Agra said that after the "objections" made by the court commissioner in the Supreme Court, the ASI has decided to make the display of a photo-identity compulsory for the tourists in order to purchase a night-view ticket to make sure that the ticket is not being purchased by people using aliases which could pose a security threat to the monument.
He said that this way, it will be ensured that the ticket has only been purchased by a genuine tourist, not by an anti-social element or a tout intending to resell the ticket at a premium.
He said that the tickets for Taj's night viewing will be sold from January 23 and for the first time, the monumentwill be opened for five consecutive nights.
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