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May 10, 2023

Foreign tourists walk barefoot at Taj Mahal, Archaeological Survey of India reacts after pic goes viral

By Siraj Qureshi: A group of foreign tourists was seen walking barefoot at the

By Siraj Qureshi: A group of foreign tourists was seen walking barefoot at the Taj Mahal, with their shoes in their hands. Almost a week after the photo of the incident was shared multiple times on social media platforms, the Archaeological Survey of India has gone into damage control mode. The ASI said that the tourists were probably unaware of the provision of wearing shoe covers, which led to this incident.

Talking to India Today, a senior ASI official said that no such case has been brought to the notice of ASI and the tourists featured in the viral photos may have chosen to walk barefoot instead of wearing shoe covers.

He said that there is a provision to give every foreign tourist a welcome kit at the Taj Mahal gate which contains a pair of shoe covers and a water bottle. However, in this case, the tourists may not have chosen to use the shoe covers, or for some reason, they did not receive the free shoe covers at the gate, the official told India Today.

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He said that earlier, there was a shoe cover dispenser at the base of the main mausoleum, but it was removed recently after the covers started being dispensed at the gates of the monument.

Meanwhile, expressing his dismay at the scene, Agra Tourist Welfare Chamber secretary Vishal Sharma said that the shoe covers for foreign and domestic tourists has always been a point of contention between the Agra Development Authority and the local tourism organisations.

Since tourists are not allowed to walk in the main mausoleum with their shoes on, and it is not possible to walk barefoot on the marble floor which is blazing hot in the summer months, the shoe covers offer a welcome respite for the tourists.

However, the shoe covers are always in short supply and black marketeers take advantage of this, selling shoe covers to the tourists before they reach the monument, Vishal Sharma said.

He said that recently, the Agra Divisional Commissioner had announced that every tourist, whether foreign or Indian, would be given a free shoe cover, but the tourists who were walking barefoot at the monument with their shoes in their hands were clearly not given shoe covers, forcing them to walk barefoot.

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