A study on the corrosion of the Taj Mahal over the recent years and causes that have led to this sorry state. Also includes steps taken by the Indian government for restoration.

1. BY- Sanika Rahul Savdekar
X-A
DETORIATING TAJ MAHAL:
A STUDY

2. “The world is divided into two types of people- those who
have seen the Taj Mahal, and those who have not.”
- Mark Twain

3. Taj Mahal- An Introduction
 Commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal
emperor Shah Jahan to house the remains of
his cherished wife, the Taj Mahal stands on
the southern bank of the Yamuna River in
Agra, India. The famed mausoleum complex,
built over more than 20 years, is one of the
most outstanding examples of Mughal
architecture, which combined Indian, Persian
and Islamic influences. At its center is the Taj
Mahal itself, built of shimmering white
marble that seems to change color
depending on the sunlight or moonlight
hitting its surface. Designated a UNESCO
World Heritage site in 1983, it remains one of
the world’s most celebrated structures and a
stunning symbol of India’s rich history.

4. What is corrosion?
 Corrosion is a natural process, which converts a
refined metal to a more stable form, such as its oxide,
hydroxide, or sulfide. It is the gradual destruction of
materials by chemical and/or electrochemical reaction
with their environment.
 Corrosion has been affecting monuments for a long
time now, with a recent rise in pollution levels and
amount of green house gases in the air.

5. WHAT CAUSES CORROSION?
ACID RAIN- it causes tremendous damage to soil
fertility, aquatic life, and durable inorganic materials
such as stone and metals. Some of the greatest
measurable effects of acid rain can be observed on
human constructions, particularly old buildings with
facades built of corrosion-prone metals such as
copper and porous stone such as limestone.
Some sites affected by acid rain are-
 Leshan Buddha, China
 Taj Mahal, India
 Acropolis, Athens
 Damphier Rock Complex, Australia

6. Problems the Taj is facing
 Environmental pollution spurred by
industry and automobiles has long been
observed to be progressively destroying
the Taj Mahal's white marble surface.
Petitions of Indian environmentalists have
led to a series of court challenges in the
Indian Supreme Court and lower courts.
The conflict has often pitted business
and labor interests against
environmentalists and preservationists as
well as India's need to protect its cultural
heritage versus its need to provide jobs
for its citizens.

7. The Taj And Corrosion
 India has experienced exponential industrial growth in
recent years. Increasingly, people have left villages for
urban centers in order to try and find work. The result of
this industrialization has often been overcrowded cities
and dense pollution. Agra is no exception. It has been
identified as a "pollution intensive zone" by the World
Health Organization (WHO). It is estimated that the area
around the Taj contains five times the amount of
suspended particles (such as sulfur dioxide) that the Taj
Mahal could handle without sustaining everlasting
damage.

8.  conservationists say that the crisis the Taj confronts
comes not merely from nature and pollution but also
from people themselves - too many tourists and too
many vehicles that bring them to Agra. The number of
vehicles in the city has shot up from around 40,000 in
1985 when Firozabad too was part of the Agra district,
to more than a million now. The opening of the
Yamuna Expressway has increased vehicular traffic,
while the pressure of heavy vehicles on the Delhi-
Kolkata and Delhi-Mumbai national highways passing
through Agra has increased phenomenally.
 The gaps left by illegal mining in the Aravali ranges
have raised the SPM (suspended particulate matter) in
Agra. Against a standard of 100 microns per cubic
meter, it remains as high as 300, touching 500 during
summer months. The problem is that sandy particles
rub against the monument and leave pock marks that
make the surface rough, as has been pointed out by
many studies.

9. Action taken- Save our
mausoleum
 Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), a 10,400 sq. km area around the
monument where industrial business is limited.
 The first court challenge was made in 1984 before the
Supreme Court of India. In 1996 that the Supreme Court
ruled that the industries in the area were actively
contributing to air pollution and ordered major industrial
units to install pollution control devices. The court also
ordered 292 coal-based industries to switch to natural gas
or else to relocate outside the protected zone by April 30,
1997.
 A further complication is that the state of Uttar Pradesh,
where Agra and the Taj are located, have near daily
electricity blackouts. This has had a negative effect on the
functioning of the sensitive pollution monitoring system of
the Taj. In April 2002, the Supreme Court ordered the Agra
Heritage Fund to set up a solar power plant to meet the
energy needs of the Taj Mahal and the surrounding area.

10. Our monuments are a matter of
national pride and honor, let’s not spoil
them!
Be a good citizen and help conserve
our beautiful heritage.