Losing the Taj: Fighting a monumental neglect
Taj dies if the Yamuna dies
Hydel plants, mining, domestic and industrial waste, deforestation, groundwater exhaustion, floodplain encroachment, the Yamuna is an ecologically dead river at Agra. The Taj's foundations are buried deep below the riverbed. Research now shows the water level is receding. Will the Mughal tomb cave in if the Yamuna dies?
Green stains are fly specks
With the rising algae and detritus, the population of midges in the Yamuna has
exploded. Their green faeces can be washed off, but the alarm has been sounded on the severe environmental degradation.
A maddening rush of tourists
The Taj is reeling under footfalls. Fragile areas like the main mausoleum, the platform at the centre of the char bagh, the one extending from the main entrance towards the mausoleum, are all under severe pressure. Mass human presence creates unhealthy humidity. Sweat, oil, dirt from contact gets absorbed into the marble. The longer it remains, the harder it is to remove.
Not just vandalism and graffiti
The volume of visitors places enormous pressure on the conservators who have to battle for space to carry out their work.
Erosion is scarring the Taj
Flaking plaster and stained marble, missing stones and inlay work, minarets and domes crumbling in a storm, these are all indications of a prolonged structural erosion, possibly from the rusting of concealed iron lugs and dowels used to join together stone slabs in the Taj.
Blasted by sand and mining
A major menace is the erosion of marble by the sand-laden winds from the deserts of Rajasthan, and illegal, unbridled sand mining, creating deep pits in the riverbed.
Pollution from the burning ghats
There are eight ghats on the riverbanks in a 10-12 km radius around the Taj Mahal. All are used for bathing, religious rituals, idol immersion and cremation. Apart from the organic waste and plastic, even carcasses are regularly found floating on the Yamuna.
Thick black smoke billows out
Despite a Supreme Court order in 2015 to protect the monument from pollution damage, the UP government has failed to remove the wood-burning crematorium closest to the Taj.
Carbon and dust turning the Taj dark
New research shows atmospheric carbon is wreaking havoc on the Taj, discolouring the marble. Agra is the eighth most polluted city in the world, with particulate matter levels more than twice the national average and eight times the WHO standard.
Acid rain may not be the culprit
In the 1980s, SO2 emissions were identified as the main factor degrading the stonework of the Taj. Current data does not support the claim that acid rain or sulphates and nitrates are responsible for the damage.
He's a crowd-puller, in death as in life. For 30 long
