After 137 days, tourists can now catch a panoramic view of Taj from across Yamuna

AGRA: People who had been waiting for the reopening of tourist places in Agra are excited with the reopening of the panoramic view point of the Taj Mahal, situated on a platform across the Yamuna river.
Though the ASI-protected monuments across Agra district are still closed, Agra Development Authority (ADA) reopened the Taj view point near Mehtab Bagh on Thursday, after 137 days of the Covid-19 lockdown.
All visitors will have to undergo thermal screening, sanitisation and wearing masks will be mandatory, said ADA secretary RP Tripathi. He said that though the numbers of visitors are less at present, they would increase as people come to know about it.
On Friday, more than two dozen people visited the Taj view point against over a thousand who visited the spot daily in pre-Covid days. However, tickets are being sold manually and there is no cap on the number of people who can be present at the spot at a given time.
When contacted, ADA’s vice chairman Devendra Kushwaha told TOI that they are planning to sell tickets online soon. “As the number is very less at present, we are not putting a cap on the entry at a time but when the number increases, we would surely restrict entries,” said Kushwaha.
Rajeev Saxena, vice-president of Agra Tourism Guild, said, “This is a step that marks the beginning of the tourism industry’s revival in Agra and would also provide long awaited publicity to this unique view point of Agra along Mehtab Bagh. Now, we are all looking forward to the opening of the Taj Mahal around August 15.”
Last year in December, the ADA had introduced a separate ticket of Rs 200 for entry to Taj view points for foreign tourists. The ticket for domestic tourists was also hiked from Rs 20 to Rs 50.