Taj Mahal Reopens: After Tourism Took A Dip By 84% In 2020, UP Opens Sites Hoping To Recover

The ASI order stated that the opening of the monuments shall be in strict compliance with the executive orders, if any, issued by the state, district, or disaster management authority.

Agra: In the wake of the severe second wave, several tourist sites in Uttar Pradesh were shut for visits for almost two months. Taj Mahal and other Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monuments open from today. This comes as quite a relief, considering for most of 2020, the sites were closed and Uttar Pradesh tourism saw its numbers crashing by 84 percent. 

The Uttar Pradesh tourism report 54 crore tourists that visited the state in 2019 including over 47 lakh foreigners.

According to a News18 report, UP saw only 8.7 crore tourists in 2020, including just 8.9 lakh foreign tourists which is a drastic change from the 2019 numbers. The biggest drop was witnessed in Agra, according to News18, Agra saw 1.09 crore tourists in 2019, including nearly 17 lakh foreign tourists, but last year only 27 lakh tourists came to Agra and foreign tourists were down to just 4.5 lakh. Taj Mahal is finally opening on Wednesday (June 16) after a gap of over two months.

Reopening to the public comes with a set of restrictions to make sure everyone is safe, no more than 650 people will be allowed inside Taj Mahal at a given time. Teams will be deputed to monitor the crowd in the heritage place at all times, said Agra district magistrate Prabhi N Singh, reported news agency ANI.

Entry to Taj Mahal will be allowed only via online tickets and no one will be allowed to enter the premises without masks, ANI quoted ASI’s superintending archaeologist (Agra circle) Vasant Kumar Swarnkar as saying.

Only five tickets can be booked with one phone number. Covid-19 vaccination camp has also been set up for the workers on Tuesday, ANI quoted Singh as saying. The body temperature of the tourists will also be checked before entry. Shoes will also be sanitized. Sanitization of the monument premises will be done thrice a day. Social distancing will be strictly maintained, said Swarnkar. Visitors are not allowed to touch any object inside the Taj Mahal or any other monuments and sites, PTI quoted him as saying.

The ASI order stated that the opening of the monuments shall be in strict compliance with the executive orders, if any, issued by the state, district, or disaster management authority.

The order also directed those appropriate guidelines and SOPs issued by the Union and state governments, ministries, and departments will be scrupulously followed while regulating the flow of visitors in the wake of the pandemic. It looks like the state it trying its best to get better numbers with its reopening.