(TAN): The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has announced that the visitors to the Taj Mahal can now book only five tickets for adults and three for children. The initiative has been taken to curb blackmarketing of tickets to the iconic monument, said media reports.
Earlier, a person could book up to 20 tickets online for the Taj Mahal.
Vasant Swarnkar, the superintending archaeologist in ASI (Agra circle) had written to the district magistrate about the black marketing of tickets after receiving complaints from tourists earlier this month. Later, police arrested half a dozen people for reselling online tickets.
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Swarnkar said that all visitors’ identities will be printed on each ticket. The practice had been stopped last year after travel agents and tour operators urged the ministry to remove the cumbersome process of filling the name of each tourist while booking tickets online. “The visitors’ entry will be allowed only after verifying their identity from photo IDs like passport, driving license, voter ID, PAN among other documents,” he said.
According to reports, the entry of children below 15 years would continue to be free. Reports said, restrictions on the purchase of tickets will be applicable to other monuments across Agra, including Fatehpur Sikri and the Agra Fort. Local tourism industry has called the move a “retrograde step”.
As per norms, number of visitors are calculated on the basis of the total number of adults and children visiting the Taj, which is capped at 5,000, a daily limit of visitors fixed by the cultural ministry since the monument reopened after the Covid-19 lockdown on September 21.
