Sunday, November 12, 2000		Article

Agra goes green, grudgingly
By Amar Chandel

IT is really ironic that the judiciary should have to occupy itself with matters falling in the jurisdiction of the administration, but when the latter abdicates its authority the stepping in of the former perhaps becomes inevitable. It required one such "do-it-or-else" reprimand from the Supreme Court for Agra to clean up its act. Results are showing and today it looks cleaner than it ever did in decades. That, however, does not mean that the "Taj nagri" is spick and span. Far from it. It is just that a small beginning has been made.

Following the court’s intervention, the Mathura Refinery now spews less pollutants and the blackening of the priceless marble of the monument has consequently slowed down. The Yamuna too is no longer the sewerage nullah that it had become once.

Action has been taken against over 200 polluting factories falling in the Taj trapezium area. Many iron foundries have discontinued the use of coal and have switched over to gas. No coal coke is supplied to cupola based foundries.

Buses, matadors, taxis and three-wheelers that used to disgorge tourists right at the gate of the Taj - while merrily spewing out thick fumes of smoke - have been stopped in their tracks. A separate parking lot has been made for these 500 metres from the periphery of the monument, whose marble was getting affected by the smoke. This is in keeping with the court direction. The new site is located near a recently set up Shilpa Gram, which is also the venue for many art exhibitions. From here, the tourists are ferried to Emperor Shahjahan’s marble marvel in battery-driven vehicles that are not only smoke-free but also do not make any noise. Also on hire are battery-operated Vikram three-wheelers.

A futuristic lounge has been made at Shilpa Gram where tourists can buy their tickets to the wonderful monument and also wait in comfort for the ferrying vehicles. Incidentally, a ticket now costs a foreigner as much as Rs 950 ($10 as entry fees and the Rs 500 fee per person imposed as toll tax by the Agra Development Authority from January 1 this year). The total amount for a visit to all monuments in Agra like the Taj, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri may cost as much as Rs 3,730, depending on fluctuations in the dollar value. The steep hike has led to vociferous protests by hoteliers and travel agents.

The Indians get to see the poem in marble for only Rs 15 provided they do so between 8 am and 4 pm. The privilege can set you back by Rs 105 if you want to go there between 6 am and 8 am and 4 pm and 7 pm. Monday is the closed day and Friday is the free entry day. So, there is a heavy rush of even foreigners on Fridays.

The issue of allowing night entry hangs fire while a fierce debate goes on. Night viewing was banned in November, 1984, following threats from terrorist organisations. However, it was allowed for three days in December, 1999, on an experimental basis.

Power shutdowns are as commonplace in Agra as in the rest of Uttar Pradesh. This necessitated the use of generators, those huge diesel ones which are again notorious for excessive smoke generation. These too stand banned. Instead, Agra residents have been told to use inverters and solar devices.

There has been a ban on the use of polythene as well. Recently, a Taj nature walk area has been demarcated which is quite a green forest. One can leisurely go around, catching glimpses of the Taj from various angles. Needless to say that the view is stunning.

The task of cleaning up the Taj area has been privatised. This has led to a noticeable improvement. It is hard to believe but public utilities are now almost usable!

So much for what has been ordained, and is being enforced on papers. Now down to the reality check. Public awareness and support for these essential, court-ordained measures is almost non-existent and at every step there is an attempt to flout the rules. Civic sense is nowhere at display. While buses etc do stop at a distance, many people plying private vehicles as taxis reach the main gate of the Taj as before claiming that those travelling with them are their family members and live in the area.

In front of the world heritage monument, the mad rush of the vehicles has been controlled. But if you go towards Purani Mandi Chauraha, you find hundreds of vehicles parked haphazardly, making a mockery of the newly imposed restrictions.

The parking lot at Shilpa Gram is too inadequate to accommodate the large number of vehicles that reach there in a never-ending stream. Unless the Agra Development Authority provides more space, the congestion will continue.

The ban on the use of generators is flouted merrily, to the extent that it is hard to believe that it is in existence at all. In fact, officials of the UP Tourism, which operates the ideally located Taj Khema, where President Clinton stayed for a brief while during his recent visit, lament that since they are the only ones respecting the ban, their business has been affected. After all, airconditioners installed in the rooms there cannot function on inverters.

As if to make up for the losses, the organisation has jacked up the tariff of the room where Mr Clinton stayed from Rs 800 to Rs 1,800 per day. The only added advantage that someone staying there can boast of is a framed picture on Clinton in the room and also the noting that he made in the guest book.

Approach the Taj from any side and you have to weave your way through narrow roads, encroachments and latest cars battling with hand-driven carts. Dirt and squalor provide the leitmotif. Touts try their level best to fleece you. Every second shop calls itself "UP handicrafts". Self-styled guides and drivers virtually drag you to these fleecing shops or dungeons going by the name of hotels. At stake is a hefty commission, which can be as high as 40 per cent of the business that they bring. So trying to buy a memento can be an ordeal. An item offered for Rs 100 may be available for Rs 10 at the next vendor. Several foreign tourists one talks to say that they have a feeling that they are the golden geese who have to be slaughtered at one go. The so-called tourist police is nowhere to be seen.

Tourists are not the only ones attracted towards Agra. So are thousands of people from the employment-scarce neighbouring districts. Due to them, the population of Agra is increasing at an alarming rate. Once they land there, most of them try to ply tourism-related trades. Saturation point has been reached a long time back. Now it is a no-holds-barred battle for survival which leaves a bad impression on a foreigner. As one of them said aptly, seeing the Taj is akin to passing through muck to reach a lotus. Perhaps that is why the city-state of Singapore gets nearly twice as many tourists in a year than does India, Tajmahal notwithstanding. The projected target for tourists this year was six lakh. But till September only 10 per cent of these had actually arrived. Now that the fee at 14 world heritage sites in the country have been increased to the equivalent of $ 10 and at other ticketed monuments to $ 5, many pre-booked groups are learnt to have started asking for a change in their itinerary.