India’s famous Taj Mahal and some schools opened on Monday, as the government continued to boost the economy of the coronavirus-affected country despite the growing number of infections.
Home to 1. 3 billion more people and some of the world’s most populous cities, India has recorded more than 5. 4 million instances of Covid-19, in the United States alone, which it could soon surpass.
The world-famous white marble mausoleum is India’s most popular tourist Photo: AFP/Prakash SINGH
But after a strict blockade in March that devastated the livelihoods of tens of millions of people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reluctant to other nations and tightens the screw of activity again.
In contrast, in recent months, his government has eased restrictions, adding many rail routes, domestic flights, markets, restaurants and now, stopover at the Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal has reopened its doors even as India seems ready to outperform the United States as a world leader in photo coronavirus infections: AFP/Sajjad HUSSAIN
“Many other people lost their jobs because of lockdown. People have suffered a lot and it’s time for the country to open up completely,” said bank official Ayub Sheikh, 35, who visited the Taj with his wife and granddaughter.
“We’re not afraid of the virus. If he has to infect us, he will,” Sheikh told the AFP. “Few people are dying now. I don’t think it’s going to go away any time soon. We have to get used to it, now. “
A security guard patrols the Taj Mahal, which reopened on Monday for the first time since March Photo: AFP/Sajjad HUSSAIN
Agra’s stunning white marble mausoleum in southern New Delhi is India’s most popular tourist spot. It attracts seven million visitors a year, but has been closed since March.
Authorities said there were strict social estating regulations and that visitors could not touch the marble. The outstanding bench where visitors sit down to take a picture, especially Princess Diana in 1992, has been specially rolled up so that it can be disinfected without damage.
In the early morning of Monday, a few hundred visitors were inside. The workers’ security corps reminded everyone to wear a mask once the images were clicked. The number of visitors has been limited to 5,000, a quarter of the overall rate.
The Taj Mahal attracts seven million visitors a year, however, according to social distance regulations, the daily number is now limited to 5000. Photo: AFP / Sajjad HUSSAIN
“The coronavirus is present in all countries,” Spanish guest Ainhoa Parra told the AFP. “We take as all the security measures we can. We have to be careful, if we have to get infected, we will. “
“Many livelihoods depend on Taj. Es wonderful return to business,” said manager Satish Joshi.
IMAGES The Taj Mahal reopens its doors in a symbolic gesture of the prestige quo, even as India appears set to surpass the United States as the world leader in coronavirus infections Photo: AFPTV / Atish PATEL
In other parts of India, i. e. in rural areas where infections are increasing, anecdotal evidence suggests that government rules to save it from the virus are ignored more than being met.
“I believe that, only in India and around the world, tiredness is taking hold with the excessive measures that have been taken to restrict the expansion of the coronavirus,” said Gautam Menon, professor of physics and biology at Ashoka University, predicting that infections will continue to build accordingly.
Many experts say that even though India is testing more than a million people a day, this is still not enough and the actual number of cases can be much higher than officially reported.
The same goes for deaths, which lately amount to more than 86,000, many of which are well recorded, even in general times in one of the world’s least funded fitness systems.
However, there is some resistance to Modi unlocking the world’s most populous country at the time, which saw its economy contract nearly a quarter between April and June.
Schools were allowed to resume monday on a voluntary basis for academics age 14 to 17, but most Indian states said it was still too early.
At a rural school in the northeastern state of Assam, for example, out of 400 students, 8 showed up on Monday morning.
“I’m in a position for my son to miss a school year for not going to school rather than risk sending him,” said Nupur Bhattacharya, mother of a nine-year-old boy in the southern city of Bangalore.