If a proposal by the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) is accepted by the government, machines, alongwith human guides, will start doing the work of a guide in the city of Taj.
“These mechanical guides will explain in detail the historical importance of heritage buildings in the city of Taj which houses the Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and Agra Fort,” said ASI Superintendent Dr A R Siddique. He said a proposal has been sent to the government for acceptance. “It will be implemented as soon as we get a clearance,” he added. Siddique said the tourists would be provided information about the places they are visiting with the help of an audio cassette. Siddique said human guides “often do not provide all the information about the historical place to the tourists.”
“Audio guide will give genuine and correct information about the place to the visiting tourists,” he said. The guides’ association, however, is up in arms against the move of the ASI to introduce “audio guides”.
“The love story of Shahjahan-Mumtaz Mahal has to be described in an order to have the desired effect on the visiting tourists.... no machine can do this,” he said.