Experts deny Taj Mahal collapse claims
Archeologists overseeing the upkeep of the Taj Mahal denied on Friday a press report that said the iconic structure could collapse in as little as two years because of its weakened foundations, AFP reported.
Earlier this week, Britain's Daily Mail newspaper quoted Agra's elected parliamentarian Ramshankar Katheria as saying the Taj would "cave in between two and five years" if conservation efforts were not launched.
The Archeological Survey of India (ASI), which began a major facelift for the Taj Mahal in 2007, dismissed the dire predictions for the 358-year-old monument.
The Taj was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his beloved empress, Mumtaz Mahal, who died while giving birth to their 14th child in 1631.
The white marble mausoleum, known as the "monument of love," attracts four million tourists a year to the northern Indian town of Agra.