Taj Mahal, other monuments to reopen tomorrow

New Delhi: The Taj Mahal and other Centrally-protected monuments, which were closed two months ago in the wake of the second Covid-19 wave, will reopen on Wednesday, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said. Visitors will be able to book entry tickets online and no offline booking facility will be available, an ASI official said.

"Considering the prevailing situation, it has been decided that all the Centrally Protected Monuments/Sites and Museums (under ASI) shall be opened from June 16, 2021," MoS for Culture and Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel said in an order.

With the second wave of Covid-19 making its presence felt, the government had ordered closure of all centrally protected monuments and museums, including Taj Mahal, Red Fort and Ajanta Caves, on April 15. The monuments were closed for more than 100 days as part of the nationwide lockdown last year.

As many as 3,691 Centrally-protected monuments and archaeological sites maintained by the ASI were closed for visitors on March 17 last year. They were allowed to reopen from July 6, with the number of visitors being curtailed. Some "interior or vulnerable" parts of monuments remained out of bounds for visitors. Additionally, visitors were supposed to share their phone numbers at the entrance of monuments for the purposes of contact tracing, if required later.