The Centre has on Wednesday claimed that burning of municipal solid waste in the open could have largely contributed to the discolouring of Taj Mahal, reports PTI.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave said that a number of studies have been carried out by various research teams regarding discolouring of the Taj Mahal.
“According to one such research, open burning of municipal solid waste in the vicinity of the Taj Mahal could contribute to discolouring,” he said, adding that the discolouring is not necessarily permanent and the original colour can be regained significantly by simple cleaning and washing treatments.
For conservation and cleaning of the monument, one of the measures is mud pack therapy to remove surface deposits and black and yellow spots on the marble.
Other measures include reduction of air pollution in the vicinity of the Taj Mahal, ban on vehicular movement up to 500 metres from the protected area around it and various other restrictions imposed in the Taj Trapezium zone by the government, he said.
