The Taj Mahal mausoleum, considered one of the most important tourist attractions in the world, reopened on Monday 21/09 after six months of closure to fight the Corona virus, with the aim of reviving the economic wheel in the country despite the high number of infections.
India, with a population of 1.3 billion, has recorded more than 5.4 million cases of coronavirus, and is the second most affected country in the world after the United States, and currently has nearly 100,000 new infections daily. But after a general lockout imposed in March that resulted in the loss of tens of millions of jobs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reluctant to re-impose strict restrictions, especially on economic activities.
Instead, the government has eased imposed measures in recent months, restarting more train lines, domestic flights, markets and restaurants, and now allowing the Taj Mahal, which has been closed since September, to open. March 17, to visitors. Ayoub Sheikh, 35, who works in a bank and who came to visit the memorial with his wife and child, told AFP: “A lot of people lost their jobs during the closing period. suffered and it is time to reopen the country completely. "
The Marble Mausoleum in the city of Agra in southern New Delhi, which is one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world, attracts around seven million visitors a year. This mausoleum, in white marble adorned with precious stones, was built between 1631 and 1648 by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in honor of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, and is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List . Authorities say a strict protocol is in place for wearing masks and maintaining physical distance. Visitors won't be able to touch the marble, and the famous seat they sit on for the traditional photo has been coated with plastic so it can be disinfected regularly without damaging it.
Five thousand visitors per day
On Monday morning, around 200 visitors came to the site. The guards reminded them to put the masks back on after the photos were taken. The number of visitors has been set at a maximum of five thousand visitors per day, or a quarter of the usual number, over two periods, tickets being reserved in advance via the Internet. “There are a lot of people who depend on the Taj Mahal for their livelihood,” said local official Satish Joshi. "The Corona virus is present in all countries. We are taking all the necessary precautions. We must be careful, but if we are destined to be infected with the virus, we will be infected with it," said Spanish citizen Inhoa Para, who lives in New Delhi. These measures are not observed nationwide, especially in rural areas where the number of infections is increasing.
Gautam Menon, professor of physics and biology at Ashoka University, told Agence France-Presse that he expected the number of infections to increase, "in India, but also around the world. , there is a feeling of weariness over the strict measures imposed to counter the resurgence of the coronavirus. Many experts estimate that the number of infections in India, although more than one million people are tested daily, far exceeds the official figures The same is true for the number of deaths (over 86,000 to date) as many of them are not recorded correctly, even in normal times.
However, the government's inaction is criticized. Schools resumed on Monday for pupils aged 14 to 17 on a voluntary basis. But many Indian states believe the time is early. In states that have allowed schools to reopen, some of these institutions refuse to comply and there is a caution among parents who are reluctant to send their children to school. In a rural school in Assam (northeast), there were only eight students out of 400 attending Monday morning.