Taj Mahal suffers minor damage in thunderstorm

Taj Mahal suffered minor damage during Friday night’s storm in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra district, officials told news agency PTI. The marble railing of the main mausoleum and red sandstone railings were damaged, they said.

A door was also damaged and a few trees nearby were uprooted, ASI Superintending Archaeologist Basant Kumar Swarnkar said. The false ceiling in the mausoleum also collapsed, he added.

In a statement issued in Lucknow on Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over loss of lives due to lightning and thunderstorm in Mainpuri, Agra, Lakhimpur Khiri and Muzaffarnagar districts. Officials have been directed to provide Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and adequate medical treatment for the injured, the statement said.

The Weather department has warned of thunderstorm accompanied with lightening and squall at isolated places over the state in the next few days.

Source: The Indian Express