How Heritage Corridor ban is corroding Taj Mahal's marble

The ASI is worried about the corrosion of the monument's marble due to sandstorms rising from the corridor project in summers.

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How Heritage Corridor ban is corroding Taj Mahal's marble

Taj Mahal
A file picture of Taj Mahal. Reuters Photo

In 2003, Mayawati, then UP chief minister, came up with an ambitious riverfront project for Agra, linking Taj Mahal with Agra Fort and Itmad-ud-Daullah with a 'Heritage Corridor'.

Allegations of corruption and environmental issues over the project made the Supreme Court impose a ban on the project after India Today exposed the Heritage Corridor scam.

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Vestiges of the project can still be seen on the Yamuna riverbed while traveling to the Taj Mahal via Yamuna Expressway.

However, a decade later, this incomplete project and the court ban on doing anything with the land has become a major headache for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which is worried about the severely-increased corrosion of the monument's soft marble surface due to the sandstorms rising from the corridor project whenever a westerly wind blows. And in Agra, that is a frequent occurrence during the summer.

Talking to IndiaToday.in, Munazzar Ali, chief conservator of Taj Mahal, said the biggest corrosion threat to Taj Mahal's marble surface is from Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), which creates pits in the marble surface and slowly erodes the marble, leaving it irreparably damaged.

Quite a number of marble and sandstone tiles in the monument had been affected by this erosion and were in the process of being replaced or restored.

Agra Tourist Welfare Chamber president Prahlad Agarwal said the fact that the Heritage Corridor is located in the west of Taj Mahal plays an important role in the levels of SPM, which increase drastically during the summer months every year since the construction of the heritage corridor project was stopped, leaving high sand filled platforms on the riverbed.

He said that between March and June 2014, the SPM levels spiked to almost four times.

While in March, the SPM levels were 158 ppm. In June, they went up to 609 ppm.

He said if the corridor could be converted into a green belt, with trees being planted in gardens thus developed, it could reduce the SPM by considerable levels.

He said although the Taj Ganj project is undoubtedly important for the overall development of a tourism zone in Agra, this fact could not be negated that the Heritage Corridor is located on the same road that brings the tourists from the Yamuna Expressway to Taj Mahal.

If the corridor could be developed into a green belt, it'll have a great effect on the image of Agra as an ecologically-conscious city, besides increasing the beauty of the riverfront.