The iconic Taj Mahal reopened after six months, the longest period it has been closed.
It closed after the country entered a strict blockade in March to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
It will now admit just 5,000 visitors based on the day and will put Covid-19 security measures in place as cases pile up in India.
The Taj Mahal is one of the most important tourist attractions in the world and attracted up to 70,000 people each day before the pandemic.
The 17th-century marble mausoleum built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in reminiscent of its queen, Mumtaz Mahal.
It was briefly closed for the last time in 1978 when the city of Agra, where it is located, flooded and before that, the monument closed for a few days in 1971, a war between India and Pakistan.
The entire campus was disinfected before the doors opened at 8 a. m. and all officials dressed in masks and face shields were seen, local journalist Yogesh Kumar Singh, who at the opening monument, told the BBC.
The government stated that there would be temperature controls at the front and that it would be asked to use virtual payment strategies to purchase tickets.
They were also told the social distance on the property.
While visitors can take selfies or photographs alone, photographs of organizations are allowed.
“But there is no hurry, it does not resemble the Taj Mahal, ” said Mr. Singh. “I don’t think many other people will show up as long as the cases keep increasing. “
India has reported more than five million cases to date and Uttar Pradesh, home of the Taj, has the fifth number of cases in the country.
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Kumar said it would be attractive to see how the government enforces security standards when giant teams start visiting the site.
The Taj is surrounded by gardens where you can spend a lot of time walking and posing for photos, but the mausoleum itself is an enclosed space, almost without ventilation, which makes it vulnerable to the transmission of the Covid-19.
As a rule, it is crowded as tourists enter and leave in queues.
Gautam Sharma, who drove from Delhi to the Taj Mahal on Monday, said he had been waiting for the day for months.
“I knew few people would show up at first, so I think it would be wise to install the monument in the early days of its reopening,” he said.
The monument had few visitors waiting at its gates when it opened on Monday morning, a spectacle in its long history.
It is perhaps India’s most prominent monument and is part of the itinerary of each and every foreign dignitary.
U. S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania visited the Taj in February. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Russian President Vladimir Putin are world leaders who have visited the monument.