Taj Mahal to reopen from June 16, visitors to book tickets online

According to the  Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Taj Mahal will reopen from June 16, including several other monuments and museums which were closed after the second wave of coronavirus in the country.

The number of coronavirus cases has been going down steadily for the past fortnight with the country recording 70,421 new COVID-19 infections which was the lowest since March 31, according to the health ministry.

However, the number of daily deaths increased to 3,921.

ASI informed that that visitors need to book online tickets to enter the monuments. Union Culture and Tourism minister Prahlad Patel in a tweet said that the culture ministry had given the approval for monuments to reopen.

On April 15, the ASI had shut all monuments till May 31. Last year as the government imposed a lockdown, all monuments were closed in March and then reopened in July with strict coronavirus guidelines.

Authorities said social distancing among the visitors will be maintained when the monuments are reopened on Wednesday and sanitisation of the monuments premises will also be carried out thrice a day.

Tourists will not be allowed to touch any object inside the Taj Mahal, the authorities said.

Several states have announced a gradual easing of lockdown imposed last month amid the second wave.  Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said on Monday that lockdown strategy will change after June 16 with region-wise restrictions to be lifted.

However, the West Bengal government extended the coronavirus restrictions till July 1 in view of the COVID-19 cases in the state.

Delhi reported just 131 new coronavirus cases with positivity rate of 0.22 per cent and 16 deaths in the last 24 hours as the AAP government lifted several restrictions imposed last month during the lockdown.