Local officials in Agra claim that the Taj Mahal might collapse in the next three to five years. Above, policemen patrolled through the Yamuna river besides Taj Mahal, Agra, Aug 21. A bench headed by justice DK Jain, which issued notices to the ministry of environment and forests, ASI and Mayawati government seeking their response in two weeks, fixed November 15 to take up the matter. The court has been passing orders for conservation of the Taj since the 1980s. 

One of the seven wonders of the world, the famous monument was built between 1632 and 1653 by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died while giving birth to their 14th child in 1631. 

A British daily had reported that the monument’s foundation had been damaged and the wood used in the wells had rotted. The river, the report said, is crucial for keeping the wood used in the Taj’s foundation wet, and that it could collapse soon, A bench of justices D K Jain and A R Dave issued notices to the UP government, the Archaeological Survey of India and the Ministry of Environment and Forest and asked them to file their response within two weeks. 

The mausoleum?s foundations are reportedly rotting and turned brittle as the Yamuna river, which feeds the building?s mahogany,(evergreen trees), is running dry owing to deforestation and pollution. It is stated that the foundation of the famous monument had been damaged and the wood used in the wells had rotten. 

It was said that water in the Yamuna is an essential pre-requisite to maintain the massive foundation that supports a complex system of wells, arches and wooden spoked wheels and the dry ambience could fragment and disintegrate the massive sal wood. The Taj was built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in memory of his third wife Mumtaz between 1632 and 1653. The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 15.