Also in black

BAN on nighttime visits to the Taj Mahal has been lifted, enabling visitors once again to see the Agra monument bathed in moonlight.
The lifting by the Indian Supreme Court of the 20-year-old ban comes in what is being celebrated as the 350th anniversary of the world-famous monument to love.


The Uttar Pradesh State tourism minister Kokab Hamid has expressed his “delight” at the three-month trial, which started last weekend and will take place for five nights around each full moon.
In Agra hotel occupancy has been down since the Mogul mausoleum was first closed at night in 1984 amid security fears over Sikh extremism. Without the inducement to stay overnight, many tourists now visit Agra, 200km from Delhi, only for the day.
Rajiv Saxena, of the local Federation of Travel Associations, said: “This should help revive tourism in this town.”