Tag: Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal Disappears Under Blanket Of Smog

By LokMarg

With a surge in air pollution levels this time of the year, the Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders and the pinnacle of Mughal architecture disappeared under a blanket of smog on Monday morning. The structure was engulfed in a layer of haze and was barely visible to the unaided eyes.

However, this was not the first time, the mausoleum of white marble was hidden amid the pollutants. The city’s air quality level has reeled under the poor category since November 4 and was recorded at an overall air quality index of 256 this afternoon.

As per AQI.IN, the air quality in Agra was recorded as 163, in Aligarh it was at 172, 154 in Bareilly and 170 in Bulandshahr, all in the ‘poor category zone’. The air dropped to the ‘severe category’ in Ghaziabad and Hapur with an AQI of 352 while it remained in the ‘unhealthy category’ in Meerut and Muzzafarnagar with an aqi of 289 and 213.

Built-in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, the Taj Mahal is a jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage.

Air pollution levels can be high during the winter months for a number of reasons, including dust and vehicular pollution, dry-cold weather, stubble burning, burning crop residues after the harvest season and commuting.

Cold air is denser and moves slower than warm air, so it traps pollution and doesn’t whisk it away. This means that air pollution in winter remains in place for much longer than during the summer.

Taj Mahal’s marble is discoloured by airborne particulate matter, which is made up of black carbon, light-absorbing brown carbon, and dust.

The current concentration of PM2.5 in Uttar Pradesh is 130 (ug/m3). The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends 15 ug/m3 as the threshold concentration of PM2.5 for 24 hours. Currently, the concentration is 5.20 times the recommended limit.

Meanwhile, the overall air quality in the National Capital continued to be in the ‘severe’ category for the fifth straight day, as per the Central Pollution Control Board.

According to the data issued by the System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR-India), the air quality in the National Capital was recorded at 488, up from 410 a day ago.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has introduced the odd-even scheme for vehicles plying in the city. Vehicles with registration numbers ending in odd or even numbers will ply on alternate days.

According to doctors, for any healthy person, a recommended AQI should be less than 50, but these days the AQI has spiked beyond 400, which could prove fatal for those suffering from lung-related diseases and even poses a risk of lung cancer. (ANI)

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Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic VP Pena Visits Taj Mahal

By LokMarg

The Vice President of the Dominican Republic, Raquel Pena Rodriguez, visited the famous Taj Mahal on Thursday.

Rodriguez arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday on a three-day visit to India. She met President Droupadi Murmu and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, India signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in ocean sciences and medical product regulation with the Dominican Republic.

The MoUs were signed during a meeting between the Dominican Vice President and her Indian counterpart, Jagdeep Dhankhar, in the national capital.

Vice President Rodriguez on Wednesday stated that the future of bilateral relations between New Delhi and the Dominican Republic is ‘bright’, while extending support for India in its bid to become a permanent member of the reformed United Nations Security Council.

She said further that the two countries can act as bridges and gateways for each other to boost people-to-people ties. “The Dominican Republic can be a window for India to Latin America and the Caribbean while India can be the door for the Dominican Republic to South Asia and beyond,” she said at the event.

“The Dominican Republic is ready to take the qualitative leap with India. The future of our bilateral relationship is bright,” she added.

Following the inking of MoUs, a joint statement was released in which Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and his Dominican Republic counterpart strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and stressed on the need for the international community’s concerted and coordinated action to combat terrorism.

The joint press release of the meeting between Jagdeep Dhankhar and Raquel Pena Rodriguez reads, “Strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They emphasized the need for concerted and coordinated action by the international community to combat terrorism, by adopting a zero-tolerance approach. They also called for an expeditious finalization and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism within the UN framework.”

The two leaders acknowledged the “critical importance” of maintaining regional stability and peace. Vice President Dhankhar and Rodriguez emphasized the need for continued close coordination between the two countries in multilateral organizations on respective national candidatures and global issues of mutual interest. (ANI)

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Indonesian President Son

Indonesian Prez’s Son Visits Taj Mahal

By LokMarg

Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s son Kaesang Pangarep and his wife Erina Gudono visited the Taj Mahal in Agra on Saturday. The couple reached the monument and posed for photographs.

Kaesang Pangarep is an Indonesian entrepreneur and YouTuber. He is the third and youngest child of the Indonesian President. 

Indonesian President Joko Widodo arrived in India on Friday for attending the G20 Summit, which will be held on September 9-10.

He was received by Minister of State Shantanu Thakur at the airport.

Notably, Widodo’s visit to India comes just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 18th East-Asia Summit and 20th ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Indonesia is the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year.

India is hosting the G20 Leaders Summit at the newly inaugurated Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi on September 9-10. 

This is the first time that the G20 Summit is taking place under India’s presidency. Formed in 1999, the G20 was setup to maintain global financial stability by incorporating middle-income countries.

India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country. The 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.

A G20 Leaders’ declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the G20 Summit, stating Leaders’ commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings. The next G20 presidency is going to be taken over by Brazil in 2024, followed by South Africa in 2025. (ANI) 

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Taj Mahal Gets Rs 1 Cr Water Bill | Lokmarg

Taj Mahal Gets Rs 1 Cr Water Bill

By LokMarg

The Agra Municipal Corporation has served notices on the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) asking it to pay property tax and water bills for the iconic Taj Mahal, officials said.

According to officials of the ASI, a notice for water tax and one for property tax has been issued.
The ASI has been asked to pay around Rs 1.40 lakh and Rs 1 crore as water tax.

ASI’s Superintending Archaeologist(Agra circle) Raj Patel told ANI, “A notice for water tax and one for property tax has been issued. The property tax is around Rs 1.40 lakh and the water tax is around Rs 1 crore”.

More details awaited. (ANI)

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‘Govt Must Focus On Agra’s Development, Not Fan Controversies About Taj’

By LokMarg

Tahir Ahmed Qureshi, whose family is living in Agra for seven generations, says the government of the day is a party to the controversy created around Taj Mahal

I am a 7th generation Agra-wala. My forefathers settled in Agra in 17th Century when the city was at its architectural zenith. I have been associated with the tourism business for the last five years and conduct heritage walks in the city too.

Taj Mahal, the crown of India, has been in the news for reasons other than its historic beauty and the architectural genius. Recently, a petition was filed in the court seeking ‘opening of 22 sealed doors’. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, mercifully, dismissed the petition.

We all know that the whole controversy behind opening close doors is related to some old theory — floated by a historian — that within these rooms lies a Shiva temple. This theory is preposterous. People who have visited the Taj Mahal three decades ago, when the mausoleum was not as secured and there were less influx of tourists like today, had the opportunity to get into those doors and areas which are closed today.

There is an evolution of every structure. If the Taj Mahal is a temple, what are the other temples that follow similar architecture style? Recently, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) also released some photos of the rooms behind the doors that are at the centre of the controversy.

Qureshi runs Agra Heritage Walks, an enterprise dedicated to creating a platform for exchange of cultures between people of Agra and travelers through walks, stories, workshops and experiences

The entire tourism industry in Agra gets very upset every time such kinds of news about Taj Mahal makes the headline. There are hundreds and thousands of people who are directly or indirectly involved with the Taj. If the monument comes under the controversy like other structures, it will affect the livelihoods of all those people. Besides, the image of the city will also be affected.  

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The sad part is the government is also party to the controversy related to the Taj. Why have such litigation been filed by Hindutva organisations like VHP? The government needs to focus more on developing the city for tourism, just like Jaipur, focus on creating avenues of tourism for the people of the city.

There is no denying to the fact that different state governments have done satisfactory development works around the Taj. But, all of them have forgotten that the Taj was the product of Agra. The development hasn’t spread in other parts of the city.

It is required that the government focuses on the overall development of Agra.

As told to Md Tausif Alam