Taj night viewing 5 times a month now

THE TAJ Mahal can now be viewed five nights a month with the State Tourism Department putting in place new regulations. It will be opened two days before the full moon night and closed two days after the full moon night. So far, night viewing of the Taj was allowed only on the full moon night.

THE TAJ Mahal can now be viewed five nights a month with the State Tourism Department putting in place new regulations.

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It will be opened two days before the full moon night and closed two days after the full moon night. So far, night viewing of the Taj was allowed only on the full moon night.

Principal secretary and director general, Tourism, Om Prakash on Tuesday said the department had released a calendar for Taj night viewing over the next five years. According to the new calendar, the Taj Mahal will be opened for night viewing 60 days a year. For this purpose, the calendar mentions the dates for each month of the year till 2010.

Changes have also been made to the process to buy tickets for the night viewing. Now, tickets will be made available on the spot at the time of arrival at the Taj. According to the earlier provision, tickets were to be obtained 24 hours before the scheduled viewing.

For Indians, the ticket price for the night viewing has been fixed at Rs 510. For foreign tourists, it is Rs 750, said Om Prakash.

He said the State Government was also trying to persuade the Supreme Court to reduce the distance of night viewing from 323 metres to 127 metres.