Losing its sheen! Taj Mahal sees 15 per cent drop in tourist visits

Lucknow, Nov 21: It seems the historical monument which is considered as one of the seven wonders in the world is slowly losing its sheen. According to report by the State Tourism Ministry, the number of tourists visiting Taj Mahal has dropped by more than 15 per cent.

While replying to a question in State Assembly, State Tourism Minister Om Prakash Singh said that between 2012 and 2013, the number of tourists at Taj Mahal has seen a dip of more than 10 per cent.

"While 4.5 lakh tourists visited the Taj Mahal in 2012, this number went down to around 4 lakh in 2013," he said in a reply to a question by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA.

According to an India Today report, he said 2014 is no better, the current year has already seen a dip of more than 15% till date.

On Tuesday, State Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to start an e-ticketing system for the tourists visiting the World Heritage site.

A few days back Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has demanded to hand over the world heritage site which is currently taken care of by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to the Wakf Board. The Supreme Court in December 1996 had put a ban on use of coal and coke in the Taj Trapezium Zone which comprises of 40 protected monuments, including the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.

OneIndia News