India's great icon the Taj Mahal could 'collapse in five years’
By Ruth Doherty
Last updated at 5:32 PM on 5th October 2011
Source - Daily Mail. UK
Tumble-down Taj: India's most famous building could collapse within five years, say experts
India’s most famous historic building, the Taj Mahal, could fall down ‘in less than five years’ causing an environmental catastrophe, experts are warning.
The mausoleum’s foundations are reportedly rotting and brittle because the Yamuna River in Agra - which feeds the building’s mahogany post foundations, which are sunk in to wells - is running dry owing to deforestation and pollution.
Ramshankar Katheria, the MP for Agra who is leading the campaign, explains: ‘The river is a constituent of its architectural design and if the river dies, the Taj cannot survive.’
And he warns: ‘If the crisis is not tackled on a war-footing, the Taj Mahal will cave in between two and five years.’
The Taj Mahal is one of India’s most popular tourist sites, and receives around four million visitors a year, including celebrities like Katy Perry and Russell Brand, who visited in 2009.
The singer took to her Twitter account at the time, writing ‘He built this for me…’
Indeed, the Taj is a monument of love, as its creator, Mughal emperor Shan Jahan, built it in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, between 1632 and 1653.
The building houses their graves and a mosque, as well as several other graves of lesser Mughal royalty.
In 2007, concerns were raised that pollution (burning fossil fuels and dust) was turning the white marble façade an unpleasant shade of yellow.
Environmentalists suggested treating it with a special mud pack to restore its alabaster shimmer.
To cut back on pollution, cars and buses are not allowed to drive to the Taj Mahal but instead must head to a parking lot about 2km (1.5 miles) away, where visitors then take battery-run buses or horse-drawn carriages to reach the 358-year-old monument.
In 1983, the Taj Mahal was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is widely recognised as a jewel of Islamic art, and one of the world's architectural masterpieces.
By Ruth Doherty
Last updated at 5:32 PM on 5th October 2011
Source - Daily Mail. UK
Tumble-down Taj: India's most famous building could collapse within five years, say expertsIndia’s most famous historic building, the Taj Mahal, could fall down ‘in less than five years’ causing an environmental catastrophe, experts are warning.
The mausoleum’s foundations are reportedly rotting and brittle because the Yamuna River in Agra - which feeds the building’s mahogany post foundations, which are sunk in to wells - is running dry owing to deforestation and pollution.
Ramshankar Katheria, the MP for Agra who is leading the campaign, explains: ‘The river is a constituent of its architectural design and if the river dies, the Taj cannot survive.’
And he warns: ‘If the crisis is not tackled on a war-footing, the Taj Mahal will cave in between two and five years.’
The Taj Mahal is one of India’s most popular tourist sites, and receives around four million visitors a year, including celebrities like Katy Perry and Russell Brand, who visited in 2009.
The singer took to her Twitter account at the time, writing ‘He built this for me…’
Indeed, the Taj is a monument of love, as its creator, Mughal emperor Shan Jahan, built it in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, between 1632 and 1653.
The building houses their graves and a mosque, as well as several other graves of lesser Mughal royalty.
In 2007, concerns were raised that pollution (burning fossil fuels and dust) was turning the white marble façade an unpleasant shade of yellow.
Environmentalists suggested treating it with a special mud pack to restore its alabaster shimmer.
To cut back on pollution, cars and buses are not allowed to drive to the Taj Mahal but instead must head to a parking lot about 2km (1.5 miles) away, where visitors then take battery-run buses or horse-drawn carriages to reach the 358-year-old monument.
In 1983, the Taj Mahal was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is widely recognised as a jewel of Islamic art, and one of the world's architectural masterpieces.
India's iconic Taj Mahal is in danger of collapsing within five years if the issue of its rotting wooden foundation isn't addressed.