Taj Mahal is waning. What is the government doing about it?

What on earth is the Indian government actually doing to protect the Taj Mahal? Chances are, at this point in time, if you were to visit the famous monument of hope- you wouldn’t be taken in by its fancy. Do you even know why?

That’s simply because the famous, one of a kind, this timeless jewel isn’t exactly in the best of shapes. For the longest time, India has been at the centre of the world’s attention owing to its culture, colourful vividness and a melange of festivals, culinary delights and history.

And in the midst of it all, the Taj Mahal- one of the wonders of this great wide world- has stood aloft at all times. But what is happening to the greatest monument dedicated to true love and passion?

In fact, can we ask if what might happen to this great apostle of love in the course of an imminent future? While it may have taken hundreds of thousands to work around 20 years in a row to construct this unmatched colossal of beauty, very easily is this great monument waning away. At least, that is what seems if you were to witness the Taj Mahal in its current situation.

Far from being a shining beacon of dazzling beauty- that the great Taj Mahal has always been- the famous Agra-symbol seems engulfed in dust, every an eyesore. What displeases the onlookers all the more is that the pristine white monument doesn’t really seem all that neat white anymore.

In layman expression, is the Taj Mahal even that white anymore? So serious the current inept and vapid flavour of the great Taj Mahal that the highest court of India- Supreme Court- has ordered the governments to wake up from their slumber and engage in a concerted effort to ‘replenish’ the historical monument.

Each year, India receives hundreds of thousands of tourists. Some flock to Rajasthan, other to Kerala in down south and many of them, when not visiting the North-east or the metro cities land in the horizon of the ephemeral beauty of the Taj Mahal. It’s said, year after year, the great Taj Mahal attracts some 70,000 tourists from around the world.

And in here lies the concern.

What is to become of the scenario if Taj Mahal isn’t protected from the cavalier attitude of the authorities originally entrusted with the task of preserving its beauty and heritage? Wouldn’t India, then, stand a great deal of risk of losing out on its most benevolent symbol of beauty?

Who would want that? In fact, wouldn’t it say a great deal of bad for the world’s largest democracy? With so many questions at the backdrop, perhaps it is time that the government got its act together.

Well, it seems the Supreme Court is not going to sit down easy on government’s ‘lethargy’ on maintaining the Taj Mahal. Here’s what currently ails the great Taj:

Pollution

Enveloping dust

Insect-attack

None of the above is being kept at bay and none of the authorities that should’ve been watchful, rather extra cautious about maintaining the decorum that the Taj truly deserves has even batted an eyelid toward working out a solution.

The Supreme court of India had even said that the famous tomb, built from white marble and other materials, had turned yellow and was now turning brown and green.

A special committee, it seems, has finally been constituted to look after the main constituents that are rendering a blow to the original efficacy of India’s most popular monument and perhaps its greatest tourism-magnet. Hundreds of factories that are near to the Taj Mahal have already been shut down in a bid to keep the dust and pollutants at bay.

But perhaps, what Agra’s “brand ambassador” needs is a cohesive plan of action for the UP government to rise to the occasion before India does to Taj Mahal what it has done to its state of civic hygiene, public toilets and the rest.