Taj Mahotsav to begin on February 18: Minister

Hyderabad, Jan 5: Uttar Pradesh Tourism Minister Kawkab Hameed today said the Taj Mahotsav at Agra would be celebrated from February 18 to 27 and tourists are permitted to have night view of the Taj for five nights during the full moon.

Addressing the press here, Mr Hameed said tourists were being permitted to have night view after a gap of 20 years.

The government would request the Supreme Court to allow tourists to go upto 127 meter instead of 323 meter during the night and get the tickets on the same day instead of obtaining them 24 hours in advance.

The tourism potential in Uttar Pradesh was very encouraging with the number of foreign tourists increasing by 160 per cent and domestic tourists by 36 per cent.

Varanasi, the oldest living city of the world, would soon have the facility of river cruise on the ghats of the Ganges with guides narrating history of the ghats to the tourists.

The Japan Bank of International Corporation(JBIC) had sanctioned a loan of Rs 680 crore to the Uttar Pradesh Government for developing Buddhist tourist places.

The 2550th year of Mahatma Buddha's Mahaparinirvan was being celebrated and Shaheed Smarak reconstructed marking the 1857 freedom struggle which began at Meerut.

Mr Hameed was here in the city for tourism promotion and visited some of the important tourist places in the city.

Describing Hyderabad as a planned city, he said it had a wonderful museum. The Minister said he would study the light and dound system at Golkonda Fort and laser show in Lumbini Park to introduce them in Agra and Fatehpur Sikri.

The Mahabharat Circuit would be developed for which the Centre would provide Rs eight crore.

Excavations were being done by Archaeological survey of India (ASI) at different places of Mahabharat period during which unusual sculpture, beed and sword had been found.

UNI