The iconic Taj Mahal reopened on Wednesday, June 16 after being closed due to COVID-19 forced lockdown. The monument of love along with other monuments which were closed for two months due to the second wave of the fatal coronavirus is set to reopen from today. An order in this regard was issued by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Monday.
Vasant Kumar Swarnkar, superintending archaeologist of the Agra circle of Archaeological Survey of India said strict COVID-protocols will be followed. Tickets will be sold online and on the phone. Only 650 people will be allowed to enter the Taj Mahal at a time when the monument reopens for visitors. A vaccination camp for the Taj employees has been set up on Tuesday, a day before the reopening of the iconic monument.
Here are the new guidelines for tourists at the Taj Mahal:
- Entry to the Taj will be allowed only via online tickets.
- No one will be allowed to enter the Taj without a mask.
- Only 650 visitors will be allowed inside the Taj Mahal at any given time.
- Teams have been deputed to monitor visitors.
- Only five tickets can be booked on the phone.
- Visitors would not be allowed to touch the marble walls of the Taj.
- Visitors will have to step on a sponge-like platform, which will act as a sanitizer for shoes.
- Taj Mahal will be sanitized three times a day
- There will be thermal screening at the gates of the monument
- Visitors will have to follow social distancing.
- Visitors should carry water bottles and hand sanitizers.
Not only the Taj Mahal, but the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) also issued an order allowing centrally protected monuments, museums, and sites to re-open from June 16. With this order, 3,693 monuments and 50 museums will open across the country.
Also Read: Agra: Bomb Scare At Taj Mahal; Tourists Evacuated