Taj Mahal to reopen on Wednesday, as India eases Covid-19 restrictions

The famed tourist site was closed for a second time on April 4 as India battled a coronavirus second wave

The Taj Mahal, in Agra, in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, was deserted for weeks after closing for a second time during the pandemic on April 4, 2021. AFP

Weeks before the closure, tourists had flocked to the Unesco World Heritage Site to mark the anniversary of the death of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. AFP

The palace was first closed due to the pandemic in 2020. Reuters

Tourists visit the Taj Mahal in Agra in September 2020, after it first reopened. AFP

Tourists take their pictures at Taj Mahal in September, 2020. The marble mausoleum has been named one of the 'New Seven Wonders of the World'. AFP

Visitors take photographs against the backdrop of the Taj Mahal in September 2020. Reuters

A deserted Taj Mahal on March 2020. Businesses that rely on tourism have been hit hard by the closures. Getty Images

Tourists wear facemasks as a preventive measure against the spread of coronavirus in March 2020. AFP

Tourists visit the Taj Mahal under heavy rain in August 2019. AFP

India's Taj Mahal will reopen to visitors on Wednesday, more than two months after it was closed as part of strict coronavirus control measures.

This was the second time the Unesco World Heritage Site had shut during the pandemic.

The Archaeological Survey of India, which takes care of the site in the northern city of Agra, said visitors would not be allowed to touch any part of the building and social distancing and other measures would be imposed.

"Visitors will have to step on a sponge-like platform which will act as a sanitiser for shoes," an official said.

The Mughal emperor Shah Jahan's monument of love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal was closed when the pandemic first hit India last year, but reopened in September after a drop in cases of the deadly virus.

The marble mausoleum –   one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World" – took more than 20 years to build, eventually opening in 1653.

It is located in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, which was hit hard by India's second wave.

But lockdown measures and boosting the vaccination programme have led to a significant drop in new infections.

On Sunday, the region recorded 468 new cases – compared with the peak in daily infections of more than 36,000 in April.

The Taj Mahal's closure for more than 200 days in the space of a year has ruined businesses reliant on the tourist trade.