Taj Mahal damaged: images show workers assessing the balustrade of the main mausoleum
Agra:
A deadly thunderstorm that crossed the northern parts of the country damaged sections of the Taj Mahal complex, including the main gate and a railing passing under its five high domes, officials said on Sunday.
One of the New Seven Wonders of the World, the country’s main tourist attraction has been closed since mid-March as part of measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
The footage showed workers assessing the railing of the main mausoleum after the Friday night storm that struck Agra.
“A sandstone railing that was part of the original structure was damaged,” Vasant Kumar Swarnkar, archaeologist and director of the archaeological investigation in India, told AFP.
“A marble balustrade that was added later, a false ceiling in the tourist waiting area and the base stone of the main door were also damaged.”
He added that there was no damage to the main structure of the love monument – built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631.
Local media reported that thunderstorms and lightning killed at least 13 people on Friday in two districts of Uttar Pradesh.
Fatal lightning strikes are relatively common during the monsoon season from June to October.
Last year at least 150 people were killed by lightning in August and September in Madhya Pradesh.
