The tourism profile of Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal, is all set to change with a line-up of projects that would bring in more revenue and extend basic amenities at its world famous monuments. The focus of development will now also be on promoting religious and cultural sites, other than historical monuments.
A meeting of the district authorities and representatives of various tourism and travel organisations in the city March 31 focused on the areas that need to be given priority in the development plan for India’s most sought after tourism destination. A scientifically planned traffic management system will receive priority as there have been a flood of complaints from tourists.
The meeting was informed that the project to promote the Agra Heritage Walk is ready with support from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. The Heritage Walk includes a stretch of walkway connecting the agricultural field, the river bank, the Mughal aqueduct and the Humayun mosque. District officials have drawn up plans for developing Bateshwar, famous for its 101 Shiva temples in a row along the Yamuna bank.
The meeting also gave the green signal for developing Kachchpura, behind the Taj Mahal across the river, as a tourist village. He stressed that attention must be given to saving the dying river Yamuna that was proving a threat to the Taj Mahal.”The district authorities have been passing the buck on the issue of the controversial Taj Heritage Corridor, which is such an eyesore between two world heritage monuments – the Taj and the Agra Fort,” he said.