Humayun's Tomb & 9 other historical monuments to remain open till 9pm; PM Modi hails decision

Informing about the new development, Union Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel said on Monday that The Culture Ministry has decided to keep 10 heritage sites open for public from sunrise to 9 PM. At present, gates of most monuments are closed for visitors by 6 pm. Responding to the step taken, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it was a welcome step as it will enable more people to discover the aspects of our incredible country.  

The change in timings will be effective for a period of three years. 

"Some places in this list are temples that are popular both among tourists and locals. People also visit temples at night. Hence, a decision was taken to extend their visiting time beyond 6 pm," the minister said.

A committee which was formed by the two ministries earlier to discuss the proposals coming in from the states had discussed 35 such monuments which were proposed to be kept open till 10 pm for the public. However, a decision was taken by the committee to introduce the new timings in 10 of the sites in the first phase and restrict the time till 9 pm. At present, no popular monument is kept open beyond sunset - Taj Mahal timings is from sunrise (6 am) to sunset (6.30 pm) - but it has not found a place on this list. The proposal to keep some tourist sites open till 9 pm was first proposed by then Culture and Tourism Minister Alphons Kannanthanam who had said that tourists should be given the maximum opportunity to visit heritage sites.

In Picture: Notice released by Ministry of Culture

The 10 monuments are as follows which will now remain open till 9 PM:

Delhi:

• The Humayun's Tomb
• Safdarjung Tomb

Odisha

• Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneswar

Madhya Pradesh

• Dulhadev Temple  in Khajuraho

Haryana

• Shekh Chilli Tomb in Kurukshetra

Karnataka

• Group of Monuments at Pattadakal  
• Gol Gumbaj

Maharashtra

• Group of Temples in Markanda

Uttar Pradesh

• Man Mahal in Varanasi

Gujarat

• Rani ki Baav in Paatan