E-Paper
Taj Mahal: Cashless ticket booking made easier with ‘QR code standees’
To facilitate tourists visiting the Taj Mahal, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Agra circle, has introduced a new way of cashless ticket booking via “QR
To facilitate tourists visiting the Taj Mahal, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Agra circle, has introduced a new way of cashless ticket booking via “QR code standees” installed in the monument’s vicinity and at various hotels in the city.
Now, apart from online booking via the ticketing portal, tourists will also have the option of getting their tickets by scanning the QR codes displayed on these standees, said officials.
“The ‘scan and pay’ standees have also been given to more than 100 hotels here. Now, tourists can book their tickets right at their place of stay,” said Vasant Swarankar, superintending archaeologist, Agra circle.
He said the facility would not only help visitors save time but also provide them with cashbacks and discounts on booking tickets.
“When tourists scan the QR code, they get connected to the ticket portal from where they can purchase the ticket within minutes. This saves them from standing in long queues,” said the officer.
Entry ticket for a domestic visitor to the Taj Mahal is priced at Rs 50, while a foreign national has to pay Rs 1,100. In addition, both domestic and foreign tourists need to buy another ticket of Rs 200 to visit the main mausoleum.
WORLD HERITAGE WEEK: FREE ENTRY ON DAY-1
According to an order issued by the director general of the ASI, no entry fee would be charged at the centrally protected monuments/archaeological sites and remains on November 19 -- the first day of the World Heritage Week celebrations, which conclude on November 25.
The order covers monuments “specified in the second schedule of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remain Rules, 1959”.
Tourists and locals both expressed happiness at the news. “We were already planning a family picnic during the World Heritage Week. This news has added to our happiness,” said a local, Saloni Mahajan.
Uzma Adil, another resident, said, “Many of us don’t visit the heritage sites in our city. This initiative will hopefully result in more footfalls at our monuments and increase people’s awareness about our history and culture.”
The World Heritage Week celebrations will give tourists free-of-cost access to 264 archaeological monuments, preserved sites and ancient remains on November 19.
