Over the past 2 decades, India’s most famous tourist attraction. Taj Mahal located In Agra. has become a matter of concern. Experts have warned that pollutants In air are discolouring Its white marble. So. It Is not only living organisms that get affected by polluted air but non-living things like buildings, monuments and statues also get affected.
The Industries located in and around Agra like rubber processing, automobile, chemicals and especially the Mathura oil refinery, have been responsible for producing pollutants like sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. These gases react with the water vapour present In the atmosphere to form sulphuric acid and nitric acid.
The adds drop down with rain, making the rain acidic. This Is called acid rain. Acid rain corrodes the marble of the monument. The phenomenon Is also called “Marble cancer”. Suspended particulate matter, such as the soot particles emitted by Mathura oil refinery, has contributed towards yellowing of the marble.
The Supreme Court has taken several steps to save the Taj. It has ordered the industries to switch to cleaner fuels like CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) and LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas). Moreover, the automobiles should switch over to unleaded petrol in the Taj zone. Discuss with your elders and see what they have to say about the condition of the Taj. 20 or 30 years ago! Try to procure a picture of the Taj Mahal for your scrap book.
The domed monument was built by the Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan between 1632 and 1654 for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It houses their graves and a mosque, as well as several other graves of Mogul royalty. Around 30 lakh tourists visit the site every year. The landmark was erected in the 1600s as ordered by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to honor the memory of Mumtaz Mahal, his wife. The Taj Mahal has a marble dome that is 115 feet high, with minarets that are 130 feet high. The Taj Mahal has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, attracting millions of visitors per year.
To cut back on pollution, cars and buses are not permitted to drive to the Taj Mahal but must be parked at a lot about 2km away, where visitors can take battery-run buses or horse-drawn carriages.
Researchers from the United States and India reported that dust and carbon particles that are airborne are causing discoloration on the marble dome and minarets of the Taj Mahal, turning the white color of the Indian landmark to brown. The Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Wisconsin, the Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur and the Archaeological Survey of India all collaborated in the study that analyzed the effects of pollution on the Taj Mahal. The pollutants discoloring the Taj Mahal are particulate matter: carbon from burning biomass and refuse, fossil fuels, and dust - possibly from agriculture and road traffic.
However, starting in the 1970s, there have been observations of a brownish tone on the white marble of the structure. To clean this up, routine cleaning in the form of mud-pack therapy is used. The primary suspect for the discoloration of the marble is air pollution, but no studies have been previously done to confirm the claim until now.
Researchers utilized special equipment to take samples of the air surrounding the landmark from November 2011 to June 2012. In addition, small samples of fresh marble were placed on various points of the Taj Mahal. An analysis of the filters of the air sampling equipment and the samples of marble indicated that the Taj Mahal was exposed to dust, black carbon and brown organic carbon. The researchers believe that the dust came from agricultural activities in the region and from vehicular traffic, while the carbon came from several sources including vehicle exhaust and trash burning. To confirm their findings, the researchers applied the same particles to a piece of marble. The result compared favorably to the observations of brown color on the Taj Mahal.
Unless the issue is resolved, the Archaeological Survey of India said that it might have to do the mud-pack therapy on the Taj Mahal yearly, when it was only previously done once every five to six years. While the therapy is currently effective, the process takes days to complete, wherein the Taj Mahal is closed to visitors. In addition, repeated usage of the process could permanently remove the original color of the Taj Mahal.
