Why Taj Mahal, Agra Fort Not Open to Public Today? List of Historic Monuments to Remain Shut For People

All the historic monuments protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) were closed for around three months due to the coronavirus lockdown.

New Delhi: As per the earlier announcement from the Central government, a number of historic monuments were opened to public today. Earlier, Union Minister of Tourism and Culture Prahlad Singh Patel on Twitter announced that all monuments will be reopened with complete precautions from July 6.

All the historic monuments protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) were closed for around three months due to the coronavirus lockdown.

However, certain monuments in Agra such as Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Akbar Tomb and others were not opened to public and remain closed until further orders. Why?

Why these monuments not opened to public?

1) Issuing a notification, Agra District Magistrate Prabhu N Singh said that the monuments will remain shut for public as these architectural wonders fall in ‘buffer zone’ areas or containment zones in Agra.

2) The development comes as 55 new cases were reported in the past four days and there are 71 containment zones at present in Agra.

3) The Agra District Magistrate added that there is a threat of coronavirus spread as tourists will come to these places if they are opened.

4) The decision to keep these monuments shut for public was taken in a meeting on Sunday. The increase in the number of containment and buffer zones was the big issue.

4) Another major concern was that most tourists would be coming through Delhi which continues to see an alarming number of the pandemic cases.

5) Officials also felt that in the absence of mobility by trains and flights, not many tourists would be able to reach Agra.

6) Agra, which is considered as the tourist capital of Uttar Pradesh, currently has 146 active corona cases. Over 90 people lost their lives due to the infection.

List of Historic Monuments to Remain Shut For Public?

Taj Mahal

Agra Fort

Akbar tomb

Sikandra

Etmad-Ud-Daulah

Fatehpur Sikri

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday reported a record single-day spike of 24,850 new cases and more than 600 deaths in the country. At present, India has overtaken Russia as the third-most affected country globally.