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.
Amnesty International, an international human rights organization, has published a report on the
Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled from Sri Lanka, is in the Maldives for two days. Ac
Clashes broke out between two groups in Karnataka's Mandya district on Wednesday night. Clashes b
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who is 
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has announced to present the budget of Delhi between 24-26 March
Authorised labs asked to halve swine flu test rates (Lead)
New Delhi, Feb 18 (IANS) The Delhi government Wednesday asked the 10 laboratories authorised to
Politics has intensified in the state after Bihar's Planning and Development Minister Bijendra Ya
Salman Khan has been receiving death threats for a long time. He has received threats several tim
Covid-19: Worst health and economic crisis in the last 100 years: RBI Governor
Covid-19 is the worst health and economic crisis in the last 100 years. This has resulted in unpr
Chief Minister Gehlot is presenting the budget of 2021-22 of Rajasthan. His budget speech so far