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Taj has marble cancer: The Hindustan Times
Lucknow, July 11: Mughal emperor Shah Jahan`s magnificent tribute to his dead wife may itself be headed for a sad demise, claim experts from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Insensitivity, not age is the real killer, they say.
Lucknow, July 11: Mughal emperor Shah Jahan's magnificent tribute to his dead wife may itself be headed for a sad demise, claim experts from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Insensitivity, not age is the real killer, they say.
Despite work on the controversial Taj Heritage Corridor stopped after intervention by the Central Government, the damage may already have been done. According to environmentalists, the Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) level in the vicinity of the historic monument has doubled since January 2002.
The Taj's pristine marble surface appears to have been blasted by sand and dust particles from the nearby construction activity. Carried by strong winds that reached speeds of up to 70 kph in the month of June, they have acted as miniature missiles to do irreparable harm.
The figures have already sent the alarm bells ringing. While the average SPM level was 40 micrograms per cubic meter in May-June 2002, it spiralled to 700 micrograms after earth began being dumped for the reclamation process in January 2003. It touched an all-time high of 1500 micrograms per cubic meter last week.
The the National Project Construction Corp., a state-run company, had been building the foundation in the river bed for a walkway nearly 3 miles long and 50 feet wide connecting Agra's world-famous monuments.
The ill-advised Taj Heritage Corridor plan has also put paid to the ASI's conservation efforts. In a radical bid to give the monument's decaying exterior a badly needed facelift, experts began cleansing it with 'multani mitti' from November 2002. The gleaming white, which was only just beginning to reappear, has now reverted to a dirty yellow.
ASI describes the condition as 'marble cancer'. Sulphur dioxide from industrial discharge in Agra's air combines with water vapour to form an acidic deposit on the monument's surface, leading to a fungus-like growth.
The Taj Mahal, "that soaring bubble of marble," in Mark Twain's words, became the final resting place of Shah Jahan's beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, in the 17th century. It was completed in 1647 and took nearly 22 years to build.
One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Taj attracts nearly two million visitors each year from India and abroad.
The Taj's pristine marble surface appears to have been blasted by sand and dust particles from the nearby construction activity. Carried by strong winds that reached speeds of up to 70 kph in the month of June, they have acted as miniature missiles to do irreparable harm.
The figures have already sent the alarm bells ringing. While the average SPM level was 40 micrograms per cubic meter in May-June 2002, it spiralled to 700 micrograms after earth began being dumped for the reclamation process in January 2003. It touched an all-time high of 1500 micrograms per cubic meter last week.
The the National Project Construction Corp., a state-run company, had been building the foundation in the river bed for a walkway nearly 3 miles long and 50 feet wide connecting Agra's world-famous monuments.
The ill-advised Taj Heritage Corridor plan has also put paid to the ASI's conservation efforts. In a radical bid to give the monument's decaying exterior a badly needed facelift, experts began cleansing it with 'multani mitti' from November 2002. The gleaming white, which was only just beginning to reappear, has now reverted to a dirty yellow.
ASI describes the condition as 'marble cancer'. Sulphur dioxide from industrial discharge in Agra's air combines with water vapour to form an acidic deposit on the monument's surface, leading to a fungus-like growth.
The Taj Mahal, "that soaring bubble of marble," in Mark Twain's words, became the final resting place of Shah Jahan's beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, in the 17th century. It was completed in 1647 and took nearly 22 years to build.
One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Taj attracts nearly two million visitors each year from India and abroad.