New Delhi | Lucknow: Agra city and the
Taj Mahal are being spruced up ahead of the US President's visit, with the tombs of Mumtaz and
Shah Jahan in the Taj Mahal being given a fresh mud-cake cleaning treatment for the first time in many years.
Kannauj perfumes are being used to mask the stink from a drain near the mausoleum’s east gate and the railway overbridge nearby is being strengthened to hold the weight of the President’s motorcade.
UP chief minister
Yogi Adityanath, who visited the Taj Mahal on Tuesday, was put off by the 'stink' emanating from a drain near the east gate from where Trump is expected to enter the monument, officials said. The CM has ordered a weeklong cleanliness programme to clear any bad odour and dust as the government gears up to make Trump’s visit to the Taj Mahal a 'much-talked about global event', officials told ET. Yogi will welcome Trump and wife Melania in Agra next Monday, they said. “The CM, who was here on Tuesday, asked us to create an atmosphere of celebration to welcome the US head of state and the First Lady,” said Prabhu N Singh, district magistrate of Agra.
"We had been informed about Trump's visit on February 15 morning and we had nine nights to prepare for his arrival," Singh told ET. To tackle the foul smell emanating from the river Yamuna which flows through the city, 500 cusecs of water has been released into the river from
Bulandhshahr. This is expected to reach the Yamuna in Agra by February 21, so that the foul smell from the river could be reduced, according to a PTI report. All the walls along the route are being painted and trees are getting a trim. Over 12,000 flower pots are being used to beautify the route.