Agra, April 1: The visitors to Taj Mahal, the world famous ivory-white marble mausoleum, will now get only three hours to see the monument here in Uttar Pradesh, an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) order said on Sunday.

According to the order, visitors will get three hours to travel around the monument on the south bank of Yamuna River starting from the time of buying of the ticket.

Visiting Hours:

Taj Mahal is open from 30 Minutes before sunrise and up to 30 Mintues before sunset during normal operating days. It will be closed on Fridays for general viewing and is opened on Friday afternoon only for those who have to attend prayers at the Mosque inside the historical monument.

The marble built mausoleum, currently open to visitors throughout the day, gets visitors from across the world. According to visitors, the decision will be a relief from overcrowding as people generally stay inside the Taj Mahal throughout the day and only come out at the closing time.

Some visitors, however, are disappointed with the order and say the time limit should be extended as it starts from the moment they buy tickets and there is a long queue of visitors in front of the Taj Mahal. They said all their time gets consumed in entering the UNESCO World Heritage Site built during the Mughal-era.

National monument protection committee said the decision would affect the visitors' pockets because as much as 50,000 people come in a day to visit the monument during holidays and all their time will be consumed in entering Taj Mahal premises because of the queue outside.

According to ASI, the new system will take a few days to streamline and more staff will be deployed to check tickets. The ASI said those spending extra time at the site would pay extra amount.