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Supreme Court decries pathetic state of Taj Mahal
Why it is in news?
- The Supreme Court condemned the apathy shown by the authorities to the cause of protecting the Taj Mahal, saying the preservation of the monument may be a “hopeless cause.”
- The court said that while Eiffel saw 80 million visitors, Taj had five million, and yet it was crumbling.
Footfalls to blame: ASI
- The ASI charged with the maintenance of the monument said numerous footfalls everyday had taken a toll on the Taj.
- It was not possible to distribute socks to all the visitors. Many go wearing their own socks.
- The discussion in the court ranged from the commitment or the lack of it on the part of the authorities to protect the monument to getting disposable socks from abroad.
- Centre told the court that the upkeep of the UNESCO World Heritage site was in shambles.
- River Yamuna, which used to flow nearby, has dried up.
- Encroachments and industries have cropped up in the neighbourhood of the white marble mausoleum. CCTVs hardly work. The government merely viewed the Taj as a money-making venture.
- Justice Lokur had wondered whether the Taj Mahal in its present discoloured form would end being the “eighth wonder of the world.”
Source
The Hindu