'No group photography': Taj Mahal to reopen for visitors after 3-month lockdown on July 6

After remaining closed for three months due to COVID-19 induced lockdown, historical monuments and tourist attractions such as the Taj Mahal and Red Fort are all set to reopen from Monday for visitors with adherence to strict social distancing protocols. This comes as the Ministry of Culture & Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) decided to open all the centrally protected monuments by completely abiding safety protocols from July 6, 2020.

Taj Mahal will have a footfall of only 5000 tourists as against its peak level of 80,000 footfalls a day. Also, visitors shall follow social distancing with mandatory use of face mask, while the entrance will have hand hygiene and thermal scanning provisions and only asymptomatic persons will be allowed.

READ | 'India Passing Through A Crucial Moment In History,' Says VP As PM Modi Meets President

READ | Coronavirus Live Updates: Delhi Gets World's Largest Covid Care Centre; Tally At 673,165

Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel has announced that only those monuments or museums which are in the non-containment zones will be open for visitors with sanitisation social distancing and other safety protocols in place.

The Ministry of Tourism has taken to Twitter to state the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the reopening and functioning of the ASI government monuments amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Only those monuments or museums which are in the non-containment zones will be open for visitors and entry tickets shall be issued online and no physical tickets will be available on the monument premises, whereas the payment of parking fees will have to be digitally made and not by physical currency. Group photography is not allowed within the premises.

READ | Kejriwal Formally Thanks Modi Govt As Delhi Gets DRDO's 'world's Biggest' Covid Facility

READ | Massive 'Make In India' Push: India's Own Social-media Networking App 'Elyments' Launched

SOP issued by Tourism Ministry is as follows:

(Image source: PTI)