The wonder of the world, Taj Mahal’s gates suffered minor damages in an overnight thunderstorm in Agra on Wednesday.
The winds were blowing at 130 km/h brought down pillars of the royal and southern gates of the Taj, a Mughal-era monument which has been declared as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A north-west pillar on top of the royal gate and a flower vase in stone and a brass filial were brought down in the thuderstorm, said Ankit Namdev, conservation assistant of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at Taj Mahal.
Similar loss happened at the southern gate too, he said, adding that a portion of the wall of Rewti Ka Bada got damaged when a tree fell on it. A red sand stone flower vase at Sahindi Begum Makbara also broke and fell.
No damage has been assessed yet on the main monument made of white marble.
“We are assessing the damage and restoration measures would be planned accordingly after having full details of damage,” Namdev said.
Similar assessment will be done at other heritage structures in Agra district, which has 198 ASI-protected structures including three world heritage listed monuments — the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.
The sudden change in weather caused traffic snarls on several roads, including the MG Road and the National Highway 2 which connects Delhi and Kanpur. Uprooted trees and electricity poles added to the woes of commuters while power outages were reported in many localities throughout the night.
Standing wheat and barley crops were damaged in rural areas of Agra, Mathura, Firozabad, Kasganj, Mainpuri and Etah. This is the second time a thunderstorm has struck in a week, the last one being on Friday.