India orders probe as insect excrement turns Taj green

LUCKNOW — Its gleaming white marble walls have for years been yellowed by India’s air pollution and now the Taj Mahal faces a fresh threat — from green insect excrement. Authorities have ordered an investigation after green-tinged patches began appearing on the back wall of the monument to love, which stands on the banks of the heavily polluted Yamuna river. Environmentalists believe the pollutants in the river have caused a rise in levels of algae, which has in turn led to a surge in the numbers of the insects which feed on it. India’s National Green Tribunal, which hears cases related to environmental protection, raised the issue last week. Now the state government of Uttar Pradesh, home to the world’s most famous tomb, has ordered an inquiry. “The state government is extremely concerned about this issue. People can rest assured that we will let no harm come to the Taj Mahal,” the chief minister’s spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said on Monday in the state capital Lucknow. He said the chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav, had ordered officials to find urgent solutions. The alert was sounded by environmental activist DK Joshi. “Three types of insects breeding in the stagnant and polluted waters of the Yamuna flowing behind the Taj Mahal are causing the problem,” he said. “They’re attracted to the white sheen of the marble and the swarms are leaving behind greenish-black feces, which is discoloring the ancient monument.” — AFP