The charm and beauty of Taj Mahal is known all around the world, the escalation of COVID-19 forced many wonders including Taj Mahal to shut down but it’s about time and the poignant structure is back on track. After being shut for around six months the world heritage site is now all open for its tourists.

All safety guidelines issued by the center will be followed while visiting mausoleum which include social distancing and sanitizing of hands. Only 5000 tourists are to be allowed each day at the Taj Mahak- 2500 before 2pm and the rest after.

Vasant Kumar Swarnkar, superintending archaeologist of Archaeological Survey of India (Agra circle) stated ‘’masks are mandatory to enter the monuments and all tickets must be purchased online. Ticket counters will not be open’’.

Taj Mahal attracts seven million visitors each year with a large number of foreign tourists. The mighty monument contributes massively to generate revenue in state of Uttar Pradesh. Nishant Vasisht a visitor stated ‘’it’s incredible and historical at the same time. This was the first time that Taj Mahal was shut for six months we are here to witness the change. The new normal has to be expected and adopted for our good.

Shefali a guide by profession stated ‘’we were allowed inside only after guards checked our body temperatures shoe sanitizers are there at the entry point. It feels great there is not much crowd at this time (around 6:30am) so the scene will be different’’.

Taj Mahal was closed on March 17 after the heritage monuments protected under the Archeological Survey of India, after discussion with the Union Ministry of cultural it was asked to close due to unprecedented rise of COVID-19 pandemic still the cases have not declined only piled up.

The move to reopen the heritage sites came as more relaxations kicked in after the government announced the guidelines of Unlock 4 even after the steep rise in cases. Uttar Pradesh is the fifth most affected state in the country with over 3.48 lakh COVID-19 confirmed cases.     

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