With COVID situation almost going out of hand in the country, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has closed all centrally protected monuments, museums and sites including Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar and Humayun’s tomb with immediate effect till May 15. Union culture ministry announced this on Thursday.
Dealing a big blow to tourism industry, an order to this effect was issued by the ASI and it was tweeted by Culture Minister Prahlad Patel this evening.
“Due to the prevailing COVID situation, it has been decided to close all centrally protected monuments, sites and museums under the ASI with immediate effect and till May 15 or until further orders,” the ASI said. These include 3,693 monuments and 50 museums. They include 143 which are ticketed sites in the country.
In live monuments like Puri Jagannath Temple and Somnath Temple, daily ‘puja’ will be conducted but no public gathering will be allowed, said Nitin Tripathi, the ministry’s media advisor.
Last year, too, all monuments and sites maintained by the ASI were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic on March 17. They reopened in July with strict restrictions like mandatory wearing of masks, cap on the number of visitors and social distancing.
Red Fort in Delhi has been closed since January 19 after samples of dead crows collected from the site were found positive for avian influenza. In Delhi, there are about 170 historical structures with ASI and only 13 such as Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar, Safdar Jung’s Tomb, Purana Quila, and Hauz Khas has paid entry. Red Fort, Qutub Minar, and Humayun’s Tomb are among the most visited sites in the city as they receive approximately 10,000 visitors every day.
“It has been observed that people in large numbers come to the heritage sites and at several sites, social distancing and Covid norms were not being followed by the sightseers,” said an ASI official, requesting anonymity.