AGRA: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is planning to close offline ticket counters at the Taj Mahal. While online ticket booking is the only option.
Dr Rajkumar Patel, ASI Superintendent, Agra Zone said in statement that earlier there were 20-22 counters at Taj Mahal, but now there is only one ticket counter at East Gate and one at West Gate. Which is more crowded.
“Arrangements are being made to simplify online ticket booking system at India’s biggest tourist attraction due to ever increasing crowd. After the opening of the Taj Mahal ticket counter, tourists who bought tickets online had also been buying tickets from offline windows, due to which complaints about ticket black marketing were also reported. Therefore, with an online ticketing system, the problems faced by tourists will end”, he added
Counters were temporarily closed in Covid-19 pandemic
ASI had temporarily closed all its ticket counters in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many thugs did not take advantage of this opportunity to cheat the tourists and after that the offline facility was started again. However, Monica Sharma, a senior tour guide at the Taj Mahal, has expressed concern that not everyone uses a smartphone. Officials should note that many people from rural areas and elderly may not be able to book tickets online.
Also, technical glitches have also come to the fore in the online ticketing system. Sometimes money is deducted and online ticket is not issued. Also, there is no provision of refund on cancellation of tickets booked online. People are not sure about the date and time of their travel and this is the reason why they prefer to buy tickets physically