The Ministry of Culture, Government of India had given the nod to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to open 820 Centrally Protected Monuments (CPMs) across India having places of worship inside them. The decision was announced by Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State of Culture and Tourism. However, monuments situated in the containment zones will remain shut.
Following the lead, ASI on Monday (July 6) reopened more than 2,000 heritage sites which were shut due to the coronavirus outbreak, but the iconic Taj Mahal and other monuments in Agra remained out of bounds due to a fresh surge in infections. Heritage sites such as the Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Purana Qila, Qutub Minar in Delhi, Charminar and Golconda Fort in Hyderabad opened on July 6, 2020. However, Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Sikandara, Akbar’s Tomb, Itmad-ud-Daula Tomb have been declared as “buffer zones” after 55 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in the city over the past four days.
Going forward, ASI shall ensure preventive measures as stipulated in the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. Some of the key guidelines that will be followed includes – entry will be restricted through e-tickets and no across-the-counter physical tickets will be issued. All the payments at the parking, cafeteria, etc. will be done digitally. Most importantly, the visitors have to observe strict timings inside the monuments and museums to avoid crowding of people. There will be no light and sound shows and phone numbers of all the visitors will be recorded upon entry into the monument.
The government has also taken a step restricting the number of people allowed inside a monument on a given day – for example, Red Fort and Qutub Minar will be allowed 3000 visitors a day.
