Agra: Ticket windows for a visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra have been closed in view of rising number of Covid cases. With 572 new Covid-19 cases reported in Uttar Pradesh in the past 24 hours, infections were now doubling in less than two days.
Visitors can now book tickets online for a visit to the monument. The number of new cases on December 30 was 193 which went up to 385 on the New Year's Day.
The Archaeological Survey of India has given the facility of online booking. However, inside the Taj Mahal, the counter on the jasmine floor under the main dome will be operational to buy an additional ticket of Rs 200.
Citing the Covid protocol, the ASI has closed the counters after tourists were flouting protocols by neither wearing masks nor following proper physical distancing.
The Archaeological Survey of India had restarted ticket counters for sale of tickets offline at the Taj Mahal from November 27 and other monuments from December 1, making it easier for people coming from rural India and those who did not have smartphones.
Now with the closure of ticket windows at all monuments, tourists will be able to book tickets online only.
ASI sells tickets in Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, Sikandra, Etmauddaula, Mehtab Bagh, Rambagh and Maryam's Tomb along with Taj Mahal in Agra.
According to the official bulletin, nearly 64 per cent of the new cases reported on Monday were from just four districts - Ghaziabad (130), Gautam Buddha Nagar (101), Lucknow (86) and Meerut (49).
The Covid-19 data for December 2021 showed a six-fold increase in the number of active cases in the state.
(With inputs from agencies)
