Asi: Taj design prevents flooding of main monument, says ASI | India News

AGRA: As a swollen Yamuna touched the walls of the Taj Mahal on Monday, ASI officials said the mausoleum was designed to prevent water from entering the main monument.
Prince Vajpayee, conservation assistant at ASI at the Taj Mahal, said, “The Taj Mahal was developed in such a way that water cannot enter the main mausoleum even during high floods. The last time the Yamuna touched the back wall of the Taj Mahal was during high floods in 1978.”
“The swollen river has reached the back wall of the monument. The garden behind the Taj Mahal was developed a few decades ago as the water level in Yamuna had receded, creating a vacant area,” Vajpayee said.
In 1978, the water level in the Yamuna soared up to 508 ft, which marks a high-flood level of the river in Agra. The level is marked on the northern wall of the Basai Ghat Burj of the Taj Mahal. At that time, water had entered the 22 rooms in the monument’s basement, leaving behind silt. Later, ASI removed the wooden doors (through which the water entered the basement) and erected walls at the entrance from Basai and Dusherra ghats.
Meanwhile, teams of NDRF, police and administration have been rescuing people stranded in inundated low-lying areas of Agra and Mathura. Over 500 people from 50 villages and 20 urban localities near the Yamuna have been shifted to safer locations.
The water level in the river Yamuna in Mathura district touched 167.28 m, which is above the danger mark of 166 m.
As per an official estimate, over 500 bighas of agricultural land have been submerged in Agra and Mathura districts. Around 100 villages and urban localities are without power for the past two days. Residents of flood-affected areas of Mathura claim that they have run out of ration and drinking water.