Religious Tourism

Agra: In a memorandum to the Agra Municipal Commissioner, concerned citizens of Agra have appealed to him to initiate appropriate measures to make the Taj city pedestrian friendly. Most roads in the city do not have pavements, and where pavements are available, the problem of encroachment remains unresolved. A large number of foreign tourists who are used to walking long distances do not find Agra roads safe for walking. "Not just rampaging vehicles, but dogs and stray animals are a huge nuisance," said a German tourist. At least the Yamuna Kinara road along the river can have safe walking spaces from Taj Mahal to Water Works, "so that tourists can see all the grand Mughal monuments while walking in the evening or in the morning." The pavement is already there, it needs to be cleared of encroachments by transport companies, and repaired at some points, said environmentalist Devashish Bhattacharya of the River Connect Campaign. This long stretch of the river front affords picturesque view of not only the river Yamuna but half a dozen Mughal monuments from the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort to Babar's Ram Bagh. The controversial Taj Corridor, spread over 20 hectares of the encroached river bed is now a lush green stretch sandwiched between two world heritage monuments, the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort. In 2003, the controversy had resulted in the fall of Mayawati government. In the last two decades, as the population of humans and motor vehicles on the roads has shown an upward trend, life has become insecure and unsafe for the pedestrians and cyclists in Agra. Pedestrians are victims not only of vehicles but are also almost daily attacked by simians, canines and bovine population. Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's drea ...