Taj Mahal condition a result of negligence?

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In 1942, a team of British archaeologists handed over 42 drawings and established 104 permanent benchmarks that helped provide a roadmap on the “health” of India’s best loved monument.

These were to be checked by the Survey of India on an annual basis.

Prof. R. Nath, an authority with 60 books on the Taj Mahal to his credit, points out, “The ASI has failed to provide copies of these maps to experts, citing copyright issues as an excuse. People have a right to compare those drawings with its present state.”

Prof. Nath expresses surprise as to why the Supreme Court has been kept in the dark about the presence of these drawings. “A Survey of India team is presently checking out the health of the Taj Mahal. Surely, they should have been informed about those benchmarks,” he said.

Senior archaeologist with the Archaeological Survey of India, Mr I.D. Diwedi, disagrees with Prof. Nath’s observations. “Of course, these benchmarks are kept in mind when the status of the monument is reviewed,” Mr Diwedi explained.

The other much more serious concern for environment campaigners comes from the dropping water tables and pollution from the river Yamuna, which runs alongside the structure.

Mr Raman, a member of the newly-appointed Supreme Court monitoring committee, warns that the Yamuna runs dry for 300 days in a year. “Dry sand is very abrasive and is destroying the exquisite filigree work that is the hallmark of this monument.”

Mr Raman has been working along with the forest department to regreen a 1.7 km patch along the Taj. “Water levels have risen along this stretch,” he claims and they are hoping to extend this greening process to other parts of Agra.

But the most alarming aspect of the Taj Mahal’s neglect revolves around the fact that entire building can be destabilised unless its wooden foundations are kept moist.

ASI officials confirm that cracks were noticed in the foundations some years ago but those have been repaired. Prof. Nath warns that the sinking of the monument can be prevented only if the flow of the Yamuna is ensured 365 days in a year.