Agra: The Taj Mahal has taken a tilt though there is nothing to worry. The 17th century 'Monument of Love' has reportedly developed tilts but is still within the 'permissible limits'.
According to reports, officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) informed the Supreme Court on Friday that although the minarets were tilting there was 'no cause of concern' as it was within what is called 'permissible'.
One of the two minarets is the south-west while the other is the north-east one. Reports say that ASI director general Gautam Sen Gupta told the apex court about the tilt in an affidavit filed in the apex court.
"Heights of some benchmarks outside the main structure were compared to their values observed in 1940-41 and the differences plotted," Sen Gupta told the court about the latest study by the Survey of India (SI).
In the affidavit Sen Gupta points out that the SW minaret remained quite stable till 1976-77 but the tilt increased in the past three decades to about 3.57 cm in 2009-10.
As for the NE minaret, the top centre is 2012 is 0.52 cm when compared with the initial values for the top observed in 1977. This meant there was no significant change in the tilt magnitude for the NE minaret.
The tilt of the north-west (NW) and south-east (SE) minarets also continued to be 'within the permissible limit of geodetic accuracy'.
Sen Gupta said that no significant change in the height of points lying on the main structure was noticed.
"It can be inferred that the structure has remained quite stable in elevation from 1941 to 2011," Gupta submitted in the affidavit.
"The Survey of India had suggested the use of GPS technique to ascertain the drift of various structures within the Taj Mahal complex," he said adding that there was a need for monitoring the monument for some years.
The 358-year-old historic white domed mausoleum is India's most popular tourist attraction, bringing four million visitors a year to Agra.
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