Pollution discolouring Taj Mahal: ASI officials

According to an ANI report, centuries of pollution is slowly turning the Taj Mahal yellow, in spite of continuous

government efforts to save the historic monument in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, officials of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) have said. The primary sources of pollution are a cemetery near the monument and sewer lines surrounding the Taj, officials
added.

Dust particles and carbon gases emanating from the burning of biomass at the cemetery every day, combined with poisonous gases arising from the nearby sewer and the polluted river Yamuna, settle on the white marble of the Taj Mahal, causing it to
turn yellow.

“You might have seen the polluted environment on both sides of the Taj Mahal. The methane gases that emanate from these places are such that you cannot stand near them. It is a different matter that our officials have repeatedly spent millions
of rupees to try to clean the Taj and its environment. But if you see the condition now, poisonous gases arising from the sewer and the polluted river Yamuna continue to affect the monument,” said D K Joshi, Member of the Supreme Court Committee
to monitor environmental threats to Taj Mahal.
Read More: http://goo.gl/LZUcrg
 

Cabinet approves Indo-China agreement on tourism cooperation

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has given its approval to enter into an agreement between India and China for strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism. The agreement, which will help both countries in creating an institutional mechanism for enhancing cooperation in the tourism sector, will be signed during the visit of the Prime Minister to China that begins today, as per a PIB release.

The main objectives of this agreement, among others, are to expand bilateral cooperation in the tourism sector; to exchange information and data related to tourism; to encourage cooperation between tourism stakeholders including hotels and tour operators; to establish exchange programmes for cooperation in Human Resource Development; to invest in the tourism and hospitality sectors; to participate in travel fairs/exhibitions in each other’s country; to promote safe, honourable, and sustainable tourism.

Source: http://goo.gl/I9mEYL