The Indian people all over the world were overjoyed when the Taj Mahal won its place in the list of the New Seven Wonders. The Indian government however was allegedly not as happy as the common man. Infrastructure requirements of the city of Agra – where the Taj Mahal is located – are far from satisfactory, and especially the numerous cases of robbed and assaulted foreign tourists also present a serious problem for the local tourism development. On average, 20,000 tourists visit the Taj Mahal every day. But comments written in the Visitors’ Book at the world famous monument reveal how shocked and concerned foreigners are about crime in this city.
Many say they will never return while others say it was a mistake to have come. Foreign visitors have been easy targets of unscrupulous cheats and touts masquerading as guides and friendly neighborhood faces. There are reports of more than dozen cases of rape, harassment, theft and cheating last year. The figures tell a grim story of how government agencies have been callously indifferent to the sordid tales of harassment, molestation, snatching and plain cheating that have brought a bad name to the city of the Taj which every tourist entering India wants to see.
The Government Railway Police station at Agra Cantonment is still investigating at least a dozen cases involving foreign tourists on trains coming to Agra or at the railway station. A survey by Shyam Vir Singh, a researcher, shows that most victims in 2007 were those who had problems with their English. «The Japanese, Koreans and even some south Indians find it hard to communicate in Hindi or in English and are often misunderstood. Being extra polite could mean acceptance of an offer to drink or spend time together,» Singh explains.
The romance of the Taj Mahal, the monument of eternal love of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan for his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal, lives on and despite all the problems and negatives, the number of tourists to Agra has continued to swell. According to the archeological department sources no sooner the Taj Mahal was included in the Seven Wonders, there was a hike in the number of tourists, both national and international.
Around 3.2 million tourists turned up to see the Taj in 2007 against 2,5 million in 2006 and 2,3 million in 2005. Out of the 3,2 million 2,5 million were domestic tourist and the rest were foreign visitors. The increasing numbers of tourists however start to cause serious problems with the available resources.
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