Smog threatens Taj Mahal

The deadly smog, that has virtually turned the national capital into a gas chamber, also posed a grave threat to the Taj Mahal in Agra, about 350 km from here.

With the  (Particulate Matter) PM 2.5   levels hovering around 400 to 500 near the Taj, The 'Monument of Love', the 16th century architectural wonder, could lose its much famed shine, the experts say.

According to the reports the smog has already dimmed the shine of the building, which had been given a regular mudpack treatment to restore its original color following discoloration of its marble owing to increasing pollution.

Sources said that a large amount of dust and carbon particles have deposited on the main dome and other minarets and arches of the building.

''The positive effect of the mudpack treatment may vanish if immediate steps are not taken to save the Taj Mahal from rising pollution,'' said Prof. Dinesh Kumar, a former faculty at University of Lucknow.

Official sources said that the air quality too has turned for the worse. It has reached 450, they added.

The experts said that the building could suffer irreparable damage if there were no rains in the next few days. The rains would wash away the dust particles, they said.

Rising pollution levels in the city had an adverse effect on the white marble of which Taj Mahal was made and it had started to turn yellow. The authorities had, in a bid to remove the yellowness, resorted to mud therapy and it proved to be partially successful.