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Associated Press

Authorities in India are trying to figure out how workers will scale the Taj Mahal’s majestic but delicate dome as they complete the first thorough cleaning of the World Heritage Site since it was built 369 years ago.
Work on the mausoleum’s minarets and walls is almost finished, after workers began the makeover in mid-2015.
They’ve been using a natural mud paste to remove yellow discolouration and return the marble to its original brilliant white. Called fuller’s earth, it’s the same clay that some people smother on their skin as a beauty treatment.
But the metal scaffolding used so far is too heavy and rigid for the dome, said Bhuvan Vikrama, the superintending archaeologist from the Archaeological Survey of India.

He said they’re considering other options, including designing and constructing special bamboo scaffolding.
He said there’s a precedent, after bamboo scaffolding was used on the dome in the early 1940s when some conservation work was carried out.
Vikrama said rain was enough to clean most of the Taj Mahal in the past but air pollution over the last 25 years had taken its toll.
“It became visibly clear it was all yellow,” he said. “It even started becoming black in the shaded areas not washed by rains.”

He said work on the dome would likely take 10 months, starting next year and finishing in 2019. The makeover was costing a total of about US$500,000.
The work has prompted Fodor’s Travel guide to include the Taj Mahal on its list of places not to visit next year.
“Unless your dream Taj Mahal visit involves being photographed standing in front of a mud-caked and be-scaffolded dome, maybe give it until 2019 at the earliest,” the guide recommended.
Vikrama disagrees, saying photographs from the 1940s with scaffolding on the dome are interesting and historically important.

“If the tourism even fluctuates, we should not bother about that,” he said.
“Tourists should also appreciate they are witnessing the work going on, the right kind of efforts for the preservation of monuments.”
The Taj Mahal typically attracts between 7 and 8 million visitors a year. Built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, people are attracted as much by the love story as the spectacular architecture.
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” said Kent Scheibel, a tourist from Los Angeles who was visiting the site this week.
“It’s a living, breathing thing that emanates the absolute beauty of the human spirit.”


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India

Bamboo scaffolding may be India’s answer to tricky task of cleaning Taj Mahal’s dirty dome

Tourists walk around the Taj Mahal as workers clean the monument in Agra, India. Photo: AP

In this Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017, photo, Indian workers clean the discoloration of the Taj Mahal caused by environmental pollution in Agra, India. Authorities in India are trying to figure out how workers will scale the Taj Mahal’s majestic but delicate dome as they complete the first thorough cleaning of the World Heritage site since it was built 369 years ago. Work on the mausoleum’s minarets and walls is almost finished, after workers began the makeover in mid-2015. They’ve been using a natural mud paste to remove yellow discoloration and return the marble to its original brilliant white. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017, photo,, a foreign tourist admires the Taj Mahal as a worker cleans the discoloration of the monument caused by environmental pollution in Agra, India. Authorities in India are trying to figure out how workers will scale the Taj Mahal’s majestic but delicate dome as they complete the first thorough cleaning of the World Heritage site since it was built 369 years ago. Work on the mausoleum’s minarets and walls is almost finished, after workers began the makeover in mid-2015. They’ve been using a natural mud paste to remove yellow discoloration and return the marble to its original brilliant white. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017, photo, workers peel off the application of fuller's earth or locally called multani mitti from the walls of the Taj Mahal during its cleaning process caused by environmental pollution in Agra, India. Authorities in India are trying to figure out how workers will scale the Taj Mahal’s majestic but delicate dome as they complete the first thorough cleaning of the World Heritage site since it was built 369 years ago. Work on the mausoleum’s minarets and walls is almost finished, after workers began the makeover in mid-2015. They’ve been using a natural mud paste to remove yellow discoloration and return the marble to its original brilliant white. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Right wingers slam Taj Mahal as ‘blot on Indian culture’, amid religious row over top tourist spot

A worker sweeps in front of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. Photo: AP

FILE- In this July 21, 2012 file photo, monsoon clouds hover over the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. India's famed monument of love, the white marble Taj Mahal, is finding itself at the heart of a political storm with some members of India's ruling Hindu right-wing party claiming that the mausoleum built by a Muslim emperor does not reflect Indian culture. (AP Photo/Pawan Sharma, File)

FILE- In this Aug. 20, 2012 file photo, Indian Muslim pray in front of the Taj Mahal on Eid al-Fitr in Agra, India. India's famed monument of love, the white marble Taj Mahal, is finding itself at the heart of a political storm with some members of India's ruling Hindu right-wing party claiming that the mausoleum built by a Muslim emperor does not reflect Indian culture. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh, File)

FILE- In this Aug. 20, 2012 file photo, Indian Muslims offer Eid al-Fitr prayer at Shahi Masjid at the famous Taj Mahal in Agra, India. India's famed monument of love, the white marble Taj Mahal, is finding itself at the heart of a political storm with some members of India's ruling Hindu right-wing party claiming that the mausoleum built by a Muslim emperor does not reflect Indian culture. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh, File)

FILE- In this June 7, 2012 file photo, an Indian man leaps in the air, left, as he poses for a picture as a couple has their picture taken in front of the landmark Taj Mahal in Agra, India. India's famed monument of love, the white marble Taj Mahal, is finding itself at the heart of a political storm with some members of India's ruling Hindu right-wing party claiming that the mausoleum built by a Muslim emperor does not reflect Indian culture. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer, File)

Five things to do in Agra – once you’ve visited the Taj Mahal

Hall of public audience at Agra Fort. Photo: Alamy

DRG6R7 India, Uttar Pradesh, Agra, Taj Mahal at sunrise Photo : Alamy [FEATURES]

This handout picture shows the Taj Mahal at sunset from Mehtab Bagh across the Yamuna Photo : Handout [FEATURES]

This handout picture shows the Akbar's Church is a shining example of the multicultural nature of the early Mughal rule Photo : Handout [FEATURES]

This handout picture shows delectable street food in old Agra Photo : Handout [FEATURES]

This handout picture shows a flower vender at Kinari Bazaar Photo : Handout [FEATURES]

C1RH80 Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb, also known as Baby Taj Mahal, Agra, India Photo : Alamy [FEATURES]

F7GMHE Fatehpur Sikri, the abandoned Mogul City, Uttar Pradesh, Northern India Photo : Alamy [FEATURES]

EFD1DE sarus crane (Grus antigone) pair in Keoladeo Bharatpur. Image shot 02/2015. Exact date unknown. Photo : Alamy [FEATURES]

India launches probe as insect excrement turns beloved Taj Mahal green

No Caption Available.

FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2009, file photo, the sun rises over the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. Archaeological experts say insects proliferating from a polluted river near the Taj Mahal are marring the intricate marble inlay work by leaving greenish black patches of waste on the walls of the 17th century monument of love. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan, File)

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Metal scaffolding is too heavy and rigid for the dome
