Agra, Feb 24 (IANS) Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma paid a surprise visit to the Taj Mahal Tuesday evening, to look into the issues ailing the structure, following a directive from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He was accompanied by union minister of state for human resource development Ram Shankar Katheria and local tourism industry leaders.
The minister said the monument required strategies to control crowds and eliminate touts.
The minister asked the Archaeological Survey of India and the department of tourism to green the Taj Corridor between the Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal.
The corridor, spread over 80 acres of the Yamuna riverbed is an eyesore and has been reduced to a garbage dump. The Supreme Court had in 2006 ordered its greening but a crunch in resources has been cited as a perennial reason for its continued neglect.
Sharma said the Yamuna needed de-silting and dredging on a large scale.
From the corridor, the minister went to inspect the parking lot at the western gate of the Taj Mahal and the ticket windows.
Sharma was in favour of more ticket windows for e-ticketing.
The minister was not happy to view the dirt and garbage piled up at several places nor did he appear pleased with the drinking water arrangements and toilet facilities.
The minister's visit was kept a close secret.
Goa mining: Ministry lifts stay on green clearances
Panaji, March 21 (IANS) The union ministry for environment and forests (MoEF) has formally lift
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, accused in the money
SC on Women in NDA Exam: Supreme Court allows women candidates for NDA exam
SC on Women in NDA Exam: The Supreme Court today, on August 18, 2021, issued an important interim
Microblogging site Twitter has set a date for shareholders to vote on the matter amid an acquisit
Land ordinance unacceptable: Sonia Gandhi
New Delhi, March 27 (IANS) Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday accused the government of
After Imran Khan, now PTI leader Fawad Chaudhary also made fun of the judiciary, know what he said
Imran Khan's party PTI is constantly attacking the government. While pointing fingers at the gove
Once again an increase is being recorded in the cases of Covid-19 infection in the country. More
The Directorate of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has taken a big decision on the rigging in the export of
Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam has refused to endorse and wear apparel bearing the logo
The Maharashtra government has constituted a technical committee to investigate the reasons behin
