Hot air balloon near Taj raises heat

Agra: A hot air balloon flown too close to the Taj Mahal as a publicity campaign by promoters of the New 7 Wonders Foundation, a privately funded group, has raised fears of a security lapse in Agra.

Agra authorities and security officials are reportedly ruing their decision to allow the foundation — on a world tour to draw a new seven-wonders list — to fly their balloon close to a main dome of the Taj.

The media has splashed photographs of the balloon right over the dome flying a full 15 minutes in clear violation of the no-fly zone orders.

"The Taj Mahal is too sensitive a structure and a high-profile security zone. It is shocking how the team members dared to go ahead with their pre-announced plans without any questions asked," asked a resident.

Rooftop restaurants in the vicinity were asked to shut down their operations from Thursday.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has denied permitting the launch of the hot air balloon over the Taj. Uttar Pradesh tourism officials reportedly gave the go ahead to the New 7 wonders team.

"When did India officially seek candidature in the current contest and who applied for it?" asked another angry resident, after the team handed over a candidature certificate to tourism officials at the Taj Mahal venue.

District and ASI officials said they had no inkling about a new seven-wonders list. A Central Industrial Security Force official said: "The balloon did not take off from within the Taj premises."

The New 7 Wonders Foundation has declared the Taj Mahal was one of the 21 finalist monuments. Their campaign was launched September 5 as a tribute to the ancient Greek origin of the Wonders of the World concept.

The finalists in the campaign include the Acropolis, the Hagia Sophia museum, the Kremlin/St. Basil's, the Colosseum, Neu-schwanstein Castle, the Eiffel Tower, the Stonehenge, the Alhambra, the Great Wall of China, Kiyomizu Temple, the Sydney Opera House, Angkor, the Taj Mahal, Timbuktu, Petra, the Pyramids of Giza, the Statue of Christ Redeemer, the Easter Island Statues, Machu Picchu, Chichen Itzá and the Statue of Liberty.

Located in Agra, the Taj Mahal was constructed between 1631 and 1654 by Mughal emperor Shahjahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz, who died in childbirth.