Taj Mahal visit set to get costlier

New Delhi: In an effort to “preserve” the Taj Mahal, tourists visiting the historic monument will have to shell out extra money from April 1 as the government has decided to introduce Rs 200 charge for seeing the main mausoleum and also raise the entry fee to Rs 50 from Rs 40. As of now, there is no separate fee for entry to the main mausoleum.

Culture minister Mahesh Sharma on Tuesday told reporters that the changes have been effected to “preserve the Taj Mahal” and for a better crowd management. “We need to preserve the Taj Mahal for the generations to come. New ‘barcoded’ tickets would cost Rs 50 instead of the earlier Rs 40 and it would be valid only for three hours,” said Mr Sharma.

“A separate ticket of Rs 200 will be needed to enter into the main mausoleum at the Taj Mahal to ensure the protection of the area and better crowd management,” he said.

The minister pointed out that a recent report by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), which had conducted a study on Taj’s load-bearing capacity, had recommended immediate steps to reduce the number of footfalls into the mausoleum to protect its integrity.

“We thought capping the number of tourists per day was not a viable option, but we had to do something. The hike in prices is not to generate revenue, but to ensure that only people who are genuinely interested enter the area,” the minister said.

The Supreme Court recently directed the Uttar Pradesh government to submit a vision document on the preservation of the monument within four weeks.