Delhi: Mayawati and her government were reprimanded today by the Supreme Court over the maintenance of the Taj Mahal.
"The monument is in your state. But this is how you take care of your monument? Is it the duty of the Supreme Court to take care of it? No one else is interested," said the two judge bench headed by Justice DK Jain hearing the case.
The court was unhappy with the affidavits filed by the UP government and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The latter filed a report written in 2005 instead of sharing current information. Mayawati government's affidavit did not include critical information relevant to the case.
In October, the Supreme Court asked the government and archaeological experts to examine reports that the Taj Mahal is in danger because the Yamuna river is drying up. The spectacular monument is built on the banks of the river.
An article in a British newspaper, the Daily Mail, had claimed in October that the foundation of the monument- among the seven wonders of the world - had been damaged. The article said that the river is crucial in moisturizing the wood used in the Taj's foundation, and that the marble monument could collapse soon.
The ASI which began a major facelift for the Taj Mahal in 2007, had dismissed the dire predictions for the 358-year-old monument.
"We have been having regular tests conducted and agencies including Survey of India have never pointed out such threats to the survival of the Taj Mahal," ASI's chief archaeologist in Agra, I.D. Dwivedi, had told wire agency AFP.
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