Once, Taj would see 25K tourists a day. Now, it is less than 4,000

Once, Taj would see 25K tourists a day. Now, it is less than 4,000

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesgroup.com

Agra:08.11.2020

The coronavirus pandemic has cast its shadow over the daily footfalls at the Taj Mahal, with the number of tourists visiting the monument not even touching the 5,000 mark — a daily limit of visitors fixed by the cultural ministry — since the mausoleum reopened on September 21 after the Covid lockdown.

As figures indicate, the number of tourists visiting the Taj reached, at the most, just over 4,000 only on five occasions that too on weekends in the past one and a half months in sharp contrast to the average daily footfall of 25,000 during pre-Covid days.

According to officials of the Archaeological Survey of India, though all 5,000 tickets are sold on weekends, the tourists’ footfall is not corresponding. Citing the reason, said an official, most of the people are scared of coming out of their home due to Covid-19 and the few willing to visit the Taj end up cancelling.

Besides, a few travel agents and tour operators buy tickets in bulk with the hope of making a profit by reselling to weekend tourists, but that’s not happening as of now.

Full report on www.toi.in

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