Rebirth of India: Superior

This flyer was made by a group of environmentalists, and the title is very shocking: "The Great Taj Mahal will collapse in five years."

Although Shakru knew that the Taj Mahal would never collapse in five years, because he came from the year 206, and the Taj Mahal was fine until then, not to mention the year 996 five years later. Despite this, he still felt that what was written on the flyer was very shocking and convincing.

For example, the marble of the Taj Mahal mentioned in the flyer has begun to turn yellow and discolor, some bricks have small holes that have been eaten away, large pieces of stone in some places have begun to fall off, and there are various graffiti in many places. It is not only the Chinese who like to do this, but in fact, people from all countries are the same. Shakru found these situations when he visited the Taj Mahal today.

What Shakru can't stand the most is the poor repairs. He feels that if you can't repair it well, it's better not to repair it. For example, the sandstone of some walkways and platforms of the Taj Mahal is particularly weathered. Although some places have been repaired, the craftsmanship is very ordinary. The workers just fill the weathered holes with a kind of cement-like filler, and the color does not match at all. Many white marbles also broke, and the poor paint repair work and grouting of the gaps reminded Shakru of the bathroom he renovated in his previous life.

Lawyer Mehta, the maker of the leaflet and the initiator of the "Save the Taj Mahal" campaign, also found the reasons for these situations. The first is an oil refinery upwind of the Taj Mahal. Lawyer Mehta believes that the refinery emits a large amount of sulfides that form acid rain, causing the white marble of the Taj Mahal to turn yellow. Mehta even described it as "marble cancer." For this reason, Mehta applied to the court, stating the importance of the Taj Mahal to India's cultural heritage, and as a tourist attraction, its economic benefits far exceed those of a small refinery. He hopes that the surrounding areas of the Taj Mahal, including iron foundries and other small factories that cause pollution, will be closed, relocated or forced to install cleaning equipment to clean the city of Agra where the Taj Mahal is located.

The Yamuna River was originally part of the beauty of the Taj Mahal. The location of the Taj Mahal is where the Yamuna River turns sharply, which not only slows down the speed of the water flow, but also greatly reduces the erosion and scouring of the riverbed by the water flow. Moreover, the sparkling water is like a mirror, reflecting the sunlight on the white marble, which is very charming.

But such an important river is now a mess. In addition to a large amount of untreated human excrement, the Yamuna River now also contains plastic bags, plastic foam, snacks, empty bottles and other garbage. Environmentalists believe that such a landfill will produce methane gas, which is one of the main factors causing the discoloration of white marble.

In addition, a dam was built upstream of the Yamuna River to increase public water use, resulting in the continuous decline of the Yamuna River water level. Attorney Mehta and others are worried that if it cannot be kept moist enough, the wooden structure under the Taj Mahal will soon disintegrate. He also believes that the Yamuna River itself is a complex engineering feat, pushing the building from all angles when it turns sharply around the Taj Mahal. However, due to the gradual decline in water levels, the Yamuna River is now dry for several months every year. Without the counterforce of a steady flow of water, the Taj Mahal "has a tendency to naturally tip or sink into the river."

In order to maximize the tourism benefits, the Uttar Pradesh government decided to spend US$100 million to improve the tourism hardware environment around the Taj Mahal, including building a "heritage corridor" near the mausoleum. According to the plan, the project will eventually fill the river between the two world heritage sites of the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort, and build a pedestrian street including supermarkets, restaurants and tourist facilities on the river. As soon as the news spread, it was immediately strongly opposed by Indian public opinion and the archaeological community. After learning about it, UNESCO also made it clear that "if the authenticity and integrity of these two attractions are affected or have a negative visual effect, the Taj Mahal will be included in the World Heritage List in Danger." So the entire project was forced to terminate, but the sandstone and gravel left behind still cover the entire garbage dump.

In addition, too many tourists are also a reason for the shortened life of the Taj Mahal. According to the assessment, the Taj Mahal can only bear 3 million tourists a year at most, but last year, in 990, the number of tourists had already exceeded 5 million. Every day, thousands of tourists touch the marble with their greasy hands, and the moisture they exhale has a serious impact on the discoloration of the marble, mainly those who come to visit for free.

There are many locals and tourists at the scene who support Mehta's actions, but there are also people who oppose it. They are the owners and workers of nearby factories. They believe that if hundreds of small brick kilns, ironworks, glass factories and refineries in the surrounding area are closed to reduce air pollution, it will seriously hit the local economy. The livelihood of the entire Alag cannot be destroyed for the sake of a Taj Mahal. Moreover, they believe that the pollution emitted by factories only accounts for a small part of the entire city's emissions, and the larger part comes from car exhaust and power stations.

They even believe that most of the defects of the Taj Mahal do not affect its overall beauty. In some ways, yellowing and staining add to its beauty, just as a handmade rug has certain imperfections that enhance its aesthetic, or an antique patina on furniture has scratches or blemishes that make it more distinguished.

Shakru naturally sneered at this bizarre and shameless argument, but after all, he was not a real Indian. He would not care too much about this kind of thing, but Amisa next to him was obviously different from him. , the little girl asked very worriedly: "Brother Shakru, will the Taj Mahal really collapse in the future?"

Shakru shook his head and comforted: "Don't worry, it won't happen. As long as the local government still has the brains to figure it out, they will know that the tourism value that the Taj Mahal can create will far exceed what these small factories can do now." Industrial output will naturally start to be protected by then. The only problem is that the government’s work efficiency cannot be expected in the next three to five years. Maybe it will be able to start protective work in ten years.”

Due to such a mood-breaking thing, the two of them just visited the Taj Mahal at night and returned to the hotel to rest. The next day they set off to Khajuraho, which is next to the Taj Mahal. In fact, Shaklu initially I didn’t want to bring Amisha here, because Khajuraho is most famous for its unique unique temple in the world. Well, this temple can be called a man’s paradise.

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