Lucknow: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will launch its online entrance ticket booking to the Taj Mahal from December 25 which is Christmas Day.
The union culture and tourism ministry has given the green signal to the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (ICRTC) which, in collaboration with the National Institute of Smart Governance, will operate and monitor the response from December 25 which is also the birthday of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The ASI hopes to cut short the long queues at the booking window once the tickets are available online. The online sale of tickets will curb unauthorized entry, black-marketing of tickets and sale of fake tickets
The tourists who buy online tickets will have to carry an identity proof along with their tickets. ASI officials said the e-tickets would be covered with security features including a barcode.
The ASI director general Rakesh Tiwari, who visited the Taj Mahal earlier during the week and held meetings with officials on this issue, has approved the online sale of tickets.
The ASI chief in Agra N.K. Pathak said that after the one-month trial stint at the Taj Mahal, similar facilities would be available for other monuments as well. ASI staffers are being trained and bar code scanners would be installed at the gates.
The Taj Mahal was visited by close to six million tourists in 2013 but this year, there has been a fall in the number of tourists.
According to Rajiv Tiwari, president of the Federation of Travel Agents Associations, the tourist traffic will increase as the air traffic increases and there is an improvement in facilities for tourists.
Meanwhile, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute is also studying the carrying capacity of the fragile monument. Experts say that in the coming months, a limit would be fixed on the number of visitors to the Taj.
