New Delhi, Oct 09: The Supreme Court on Monday directed
the Uttar Pradesh government to explain the external
contingency measures it was planning to take to protect Taj
Mahal, which witnesses unchecked influx of visitors on festive
occasions.
The court passed the order as it was not satisfied with
the affidavit filed by the Home Secretary, UP government
providing only the measures taken by the CISF for the internal
security of the 17th century Mughal monument.
It asked the state government to file an affidavit
listing the planned contingency measures within three weeks.
The court had earlier directed the state government to
file affidavit after media reports in first week of August had
highlighted that on the occasion of 350 years anniversary of
the Taj Mahal, scores of people had barged into the complex.
The bench of Justices S B Sinha, S H Kapadia and D K
Jain, hearing the PIL filed by advocate M C Mehta on the issue
of protection of the monument, was supplied with the list of
occasions on which it is visited by large number of people.
Advocate Krishan Mahajan, who is assisting the court as
Amicus Curaie in the matter, said the unchecked influx of
people takes place during the festival of Ram Barat, just
after the Dussehra, urs of Ajmer Sherif in August, Zaireen
(when people return after Ajmer prayers) and rallies in Delhi
(people after the rally to go to Agra to see Taj Mahal).
Further clubbing of national holidays with weekend and
period between December 20 to January 5, which is a peak
tourist season, attracts large number of people to visit Taj
Mahal.
Bureau Report
