Restaurants near Taj asked to down shutters for security reasons
Vishal Sharma
New Delhi/ Agra. Foreign tourists visiting Agra have often written in tourist guidebooks and blogs about viewing the Taj Mahal in the morning, sipping tea at the numerous rooftop restaurants located in the densely-packed Tajganj area of Agra, a few hundred metres away from the monument.
But these famous rooftop restaurants of Tajganj are now facing the danger of being wiped out completely by the year-end.
At least six such restaurants, which form the staple business of the residents of this Mughal era settlement, were forcibly shut down on Wednesday and Thursday by the Agra Development Authority while at least half dozen more have been issued a warning to down their shutters before the end of this year.
This is because these restaurants, most of them situated on 40-50 feet high buildings, provide a “too clear” view of the Taj Mahal.
This was marked as a grave danger for the monument by Amicus Curie, appointed by the Supreme Court, during his Agra visit recently. Then the Agra Development Authority (ADA) has been asked to undertake a demolition campaign to free the skyline around the monument of such constructions.
According to ADA officials, the restaurants are concentrated around the southern gate of the monument and offer an unobstructed view of the Taj Mahal, posing the danger of a possible terrorist attack on the monument with self propelled grenades or small rockets. Keeping this fact in mind, the court commissioner had directed that the restaurants be shut down immediately for the safety of the Taj.
In accordance with the directions given by the commissioner, six of these restaurants were shut down in the past two days while the rest were given a clear notice to shut down within a week, failing which they could face demolition.
On Thursday, ADA officials overseeing the demolition of the rooftop restaurants claimed that at least 60 per cent encroachments at the southern gate of the monument had been removed by the ADA and the rest would be removed by the end of the coming week.
They refused to provide details of any rehabilitation arrangements made by the ADA for these restaurant owners.
New Delhi/ Agra. Foreign tourists visiting Agra have often written in tourist guidebooks and blogs about viewing the Taj Mahal in the morning, sipping tea at the numerous rooftop restaurants located in the densely-packed Tajganj area of Agra, a few hundred metres away from the monument.
But these famous rooftop restaurants of Tajganj are now facing the danger of being wiped out completely by the year-end.
At least six such restaurants, which form the staple business of the residents of this Mughal era settlement, were forcibly shut down on Wednesday and Thursday by the Agra Development Authority while at least half dozen more have been issued a warning to down their shutters before the end of this year.
This is because these restaurants, most of them situated on 40-50 feet high buildings, provide a “too clear” view of the Taj Mahal.
This was marked as a grave danger for the monument by Amicus Curie, appointed by the Supreme Court, during his Agra visit recently. Then the Agra Development Authority (ADA) has been asked to undertake a demolition campaign to free the skyline around the monument of such constructions.
According to ADA officials, the restaurants are concentrated around the southern gate of the monument and offer an unobstructed view of the Taj Mahal, posing the danger of a possible terrorist attack on the monument with self propelled grenades or small rockets. Keeping this fact in mind, the court commissioner had directed that the restaurants be shut down immediately for the safety of the Taj.
In accordance with the directions given by the commissioner, six of these restaurants were shut down in the past two days while the rest were given a clear notice to shut down within a week, failing which they could face demolition.
On Thursday, ADA officials overseeing the demolition of the rooftop restaurants claimed that at least 60 per cent encroachments at the southern gate of the monument had been removed by the ADA and the rest would be removed by the end of the coming week.
They refused to provide details of any rehabilitation arrangements made by the ADA for these restaurant owners.
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