NEW DELHI, Aug 21: After more than a year of suspension, the iconic Taj Mahal, the 17th-century marble mausoleum in Agra, will be reopened for night viewing from Saturday owing to relaxations in the coronavirus disease (Covid-19)-related restrictions.
Tourists can now once again visit the Taj Mahal at night and admire the Unesco World Heritage Site under the moonlight in all its glory. Tourists visiting the Taj Mahal for night viewing will be allowed to enter in batches of 50 people per slot, as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court. The tickets can be booked one day in advance.
The Taj Mahal, also categorised as one of the “seven wonders of the world”, was closed down for night viewing on March 17 last year when the Covid-19 lockdown was first imposed in Uttar Pradesh. Before the pandemic arrived, the Taj Mahal grounds used to remain open from 6am to 7pm on weekdays, except on Fridays when the complex was kept open for prayers at the mosque between 12pm to 2pm. Night viewing was allowed on the day of the full moon and two days before and after, excluding Fridays and the month of Ramadan.
Now the Taj Mahal is set to reopen once again for night viewing but with modified timings. According to the Archeological Survey of India’s (ASI’s) superintending archaeologist (Agra Circle) Vasant Kumar Swarnkar, the Taj Mahal will now remain open for night viewing on August 21, 23, and 24. The mausoleum will be closed every week on Friday, while the Covid-19 lockdown remains in effect as usual on Sunday.
Taj Mahal will remain open for the tourists for night viewing on three separate time slots, 30 minutes each from 8.30 P.M. till 10 P.M.
(Manas Dasgupta)