By IANS
Agra : Authorities in the Taj Mahal city are all set for French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s brief visit to the 17th century monument of love Saturday. Security has been beefed up and hotels, stations and bus stands have been thoroughly screened.
“The French president is to land at 1.10 p.m. He would directly proceed to the Taj Mahal and return to Delhi after about an hour,” a police official said.
French security personnel have been camping at a five-star hotel here for the past three days and have been keenly checking the police arrangements, officials said.
While the Taj Mahal was closed to tourists Friday, a huge rush is expected Saturday on account of the Republic Day holiday.
The Agra police are keeping a strict vigil following an intelligence tip-off about movement of some terrorists in the city. “We are all hoping the Republic Day passes off peacefully,” an official said.
Entry to the Taj Mahal has been restricted to Sarkozy, members of the French delegation accompanying him and a few district officials. The monument, listed among the Seven Wonders of the World, will be closed to the public around an hour before Sarkozy’s visit.
But the French president’s hour-long walkabout the Taj Mahal, built by Mughal emperor Shahjehan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, will be without his lady love Carla Bruni, former model and singer.
In an interview published in French daily Liberation Tuesday, Bruni said she will not accompany Sarkozy as she “cannot take part in an official visit with the president”.
However, there were local reports that Bruni may still land in Agra Saturday by a private plane. Officials were quick to brush aside these rumours.