Taj Mahotsava In Agra Fails To Attract Tourists

Agra, March 25 (TNA) Hit by Covid pandemic, leading to a gap of two years, the ten-day-long annual cultural extravaganza, Taj Mahotsav, was ritualistically opened last week at the Shilpgram complex near the Taj Mahal.

Originally started as a tourism promotion exercise, the Mahotsava has not yet been able to attract foreign and domestic tourists, for whom the fair was planned. The local tourism industry too, is hardly excited or involved as a stakeholder.

Hospitality industry captains feel, the Taj Mahotsav, is more a fair or tamasha for the local people and has few attractions for the tourists who are already hard pressed for time.

The fair was opened week ago by Durga Shankar Mishra, chief secretary, UP government. The mahotsava is usually held from February 18 to 28. But this year, due to the elections and the Covid protocol, it had to be postponed by a month.

The annual board and university examinations have affected attendance. The unusually warm weather has also proved a dampner, say the stall owners at the sprawling Shilpgram complex, 500 metres from the Taj Mahal.

Programmes are also being held at the Soor Sadan auditorium. Late evening events featuring popular singers, comedians and actors are drawing hordes of people, but response to classical dances or recitals has so fare remained lukewarm. The stall owners hoped that in coming days, their sales would pick up, so that the expenses would at least be met.

Started in 1992, the Taj Mahotsav, organised by UP Tourism and the industries department, was planned to showcase the Mughal and Braj culture to the visiting tourists, and thereby promote tourism, but results tell a different story.