‘Tulsi’, known for its medicinal utilities, will now help protect the Taj Mahal against the ill-effects of environmental pollution.

In a joint exercise being undertaken by the Uttar Pradesh forest department and Lucknow-based Organic India Private Ltd, one million tulsi saplings would be planted in the vicinity of the Monument of Love.

“Till now, nearly 20,000 tulsi saplings have been planted. More will be planted in nature parks near Taj Mahal and throughout Agra,”  According to company’s MD Krishan Gupta.

“It is one of the best plants which purify the environment. Its cleansing action is due to its property of releasing high amount of oxygen, which minimises the adverse impact of industrial and refinery emission.” Krishan Gupta added.

Taj Mahal, the world famous white-marbled monument of love, is fast losing its sheen due to pollution.

India’s most famous monument, which is in the running to be voted as one of the seven new Wonders of the World, flanks a stinking, garbage-infested river and is almost always enveloped by dust and smog from belching smokestacks and vehicles.

Millions of Indians hope the majestic white marble mausoleum, which took 17 years and 20,000 workers to build, will feature on the Wonders list, but conservationists and environmentalists are urging people to pay attention to its darker side.

To ensure a clean enviornment around Taj Mahal and Agra Fort , millions of rupees have been spent to control the air and atmosphere however in a report released indicates that there has been an alarmingly rise in the levels of poisonous gases around both the heritage sites.

The Taj Mahal is getting dirty, and some want to get it even dirtier.
The 17th century mausoleum is renowned for the paleness of its marble, but these days it looks more yellow than white.
According to a report of parliamentary panel blamed air pollution, saying the Taj Mahal is encrusted with “suspended particulate matter,” or granules of dirt and soot found in high levels in the air around the site in the city of Agra.

“The deposition of SPM on the shimmering white marble of the Taj Mahal imparts yellow tinge to the marble surface,” the report said.

To restore the monument to its pristine glory, the panel recommended packing it in mud, a process used on the Taj Mahal in the past.

The treatment takes about two months and involves caking the domed edifice in mud and letting it dry before washing the clay off. As the mud dries, it absorbs the dirty buildup.

The restoration costs $230,000 and will need to be repeated every two or three years,According to P. Dayalan, superintendent of the Archaeological Survey of India in Agra, which maintains the monument.

The Taj Mahal was built by the Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan between 1632 and 1654 for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It houses their graves and a mosque, as well as several other graves of lesser Mogul royalty.
Some 3 million tourists visit the mausoleum every year.
To prevent pollution, visitors must park nearly two miles away and take battery-run buses or horse-drawn carriages to the site.

Taj Mahal, the 17th century white marble monument of love, is turning yellow due to dust and dirt.

Due to a high level of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) in the air, the white marble surface of the Taj Mahal has acquired a yellowish appearance, Minister for Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni told Lok Sabha on Thursday. She said the niches, arches and the brackets used for supporting the balcony of minarets were particularly turning yellow. “The main reason for the yellowish appearance seems to be dust and dirt deposits, which do not get washed off by rain.”

The Minister informed that these accretionary deposits over the marble are safely removed by clay pack treatment, which is non-corrosive and non-abrasive.

The clay pack treatment was carried out in 2001-03 and the same is being repeated in certain areas during this year, Ms. Soni said.