Indian Court threatens to demolish Taj Majal
The Supreme Court of India has threatened to totally close and even demolish the Taj Mahal unless the government increases its efforts to preserve the 400-year-old mausoleum and protect it from the onslaught of increasing environmental pollution in the Agra region, where is located, and the massive influx of tourists.
According to the newspaper Art News, the court asked the federal entities to prepare a concrete action plan detailing how it plans to save the UNESCO World Heritage site, which is very polluted and dirty due to environmental pollution in Agra and also for the millions and millions of people who visit it every year leaving behind deterioration and thousands of tons of garbage.
The government assures that a plan is underway. According to the Times of India, a series of actions described in the plan include the formwork of oil refineries installed years ago in the vicinity of the building, as well as other industries that pollute and dirty the appearance of the once pristine Taj Mahal.
It would also be planning a change to green transportation using public electric vehicles and encouraging mobility on bicycles and avoiding gasoline or diesel cars.
It it worth to analyze that the idea of closing the Taj Mahal to visitors and then destroying it is an ultimatum that officials are trying to avoid with great effort. In other words, there is little chance that one of the most iconic architectural monuments in the world will come face to face with a fatal fate.
Still, the mere mention of the dreaded word "demolition" in relation to the Taj Mahal is discouraging and once again draws attention to the plight of this building made entirely of white marble, arguably the greatest monument in history which was erected in memory of the wife of an emperor.
The commission of judges to the officials of both the state and federal governments manifested the idea of closing the Taj Mahal and demolishing it if it is not restored. The court asked the federal entities to draw up a concrete action plan detailing how they plan to save the UNESCO World Heritage site, which is very polluted and dirty by the millions and millions of people who visit it every year. leaving in its wake deterioration and thousands of tons of garbage.
