A 12-foot metal pillar at the entry gate of the famed Taj Mahal came crashing down on Wednesday, 11 April, as heavy rains and high winds lashed UP’s Agra, ANI reported.
The pillar or 'minaret' located on the southern entry gate, referred to as Darwaza-e-Rauza, broke into several pieces due to the heavy downpour. No casualties have been reported, according to ANI. The wind speed during the thunderstorm crossed 100 km per hour, NDTV reported.
The heavy downpour took the lives 3 children in Mathura district on the same day after a tin roof of their one-room house collapsed, ANI reported.
Crops were damaged in several areas in Nandgaon, Vrindavan, Kosi Kalan areas of Mathura district, the ANI report added.
In 2016 too, one of the minarets of Taj Mahal was reportedly damaged, Times of India reported. The ASI that maintains the iconic heritage site blamed monkeys for weakening the pillar while reports suggested that the minarets may have been damaged due to cleaning work, the TOI report added.
ASI, the custodian of the monument, and Sunni Waqf Board are currently engaged in a legal tussle over the ownership of the Taj Mahal. ASI had appealed against the apex court in 2010 against the board’s July 2005 decision ordering that the Taj be registered as the Waqf Board’s property, Firstpost reported, and there was a stay put on the order. The ASI told SC that Taj Mahal was taken over by the British and since Independence, the society has been handling the monument’s upkeep.
In the latest development in the case to determine who will be responsible for the upkeep of the monument, on Wednesday, the Supreme Court asked the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board to show documents signed by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, to prove that it owns the Taj Mahal, according to PTI reports.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI, Times of India )
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