By IANS
Agra : It was business as usual at the Taj Mahal Thursday after Wednesday’s tragic incidents that had set in a mood of uncertainty and insecurity, with foreign tourists asked to stay indoors after being pushed out of the historic monument.
All the three gates of the Taj were thrown open early Thursday to welcome tourists, according to Munazzar Ali, an official of the archaeological survey of India (ASI) here.
On Wednesday large parts of Agra were put under curfew after a truck ploughed through Muslims, celebrating a festival, killing four men, sparking mob fury and police firing that left a young man dead and dozens injured in India’s top tourist destination.
State Home Secretary Mahesh Gupta had made it clear late Wednesday that the Taj Mahal would be opened as usual Thursday.
Gupta however said no orders had been given to close the Taj Mahal.
Despite no official orders, ASI people and the security personnel at the monument Wednesday persuaded the tourists to vacate the Taj premises and return to their hotels.
ASI-Police action virtually shut the 17th century Taj, which receives thousands of Indian and foreign tourists every day.
The road from Sadar Bazar via the V.I.P road to Shilpgram was open for traffic early Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Agra city woke up overwhelmed by mood despair.
Newspapers wondered how a small group of hooligans could hold the city hostage with all the administrative wings paralysed for several hours.
Photographs and extensive coverage of the mayhem have instilled a sense of despair and groom and Thursday morning people everywhere were wondering what happened to this city of love.
“The surprising aspect was the involvement of the youth in the violence. Nowhere did we see oldies or middle aged people participating in the violent incidents. Street urchins and misguided youngsters were the vanguard. This is a really worrying aspect of yesterday’s (Wednesday) communal strife,” said Manohar Gidwani, a banker and president of the Agra Cartoon Forum.
A high level inquiry has been ordered by the state government to look into all aspects of the Wednesday’s communal flare up, which has proved a huge setback to tourism in Agra.