Illuminated Mahabs to remain open till 9 pm from July 15

CHENGALPATTU: The Department of Archaeology experts deciding on keeping the world-famous monuments in Mahabalipuram open for night viewing has come as a shot in the arm for tourism in the State.

It was announced that the tourist spots will be kept open till 9 pm from July 15 onwards and the Unesco-certified monuments will be adequately lit.

Thousands of tourists including several foreigners visit the town every day to experience the various attractions like Krishna’s Butter Ball, Arjuna’s Penance, Shore Temple, Five Rathas etc, and are charged Rs 40 as an entry fee for the locals and Rs 600 for foreign nationals.

However, tourists were allowed to visit the attractions only from 6 am to 6 pm in the evening until now. Owing to this, several tourists who cannot make it within 6 pm were forced to stand outside the gates and click pictures without actually experiencing the true essence of the attractions.

In 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the Mahabalipuram monuments, a special allowance was made to keep them open till 9 pm and the monuments were bathed in the glow of beautiful lights.

However, shortly after when the pandemic struck, the lights became faulty due to rain, and the general public was banned from visiting the place beyond 6 pm.

Now that tourism has revived, the Department of Archaeology has decided to keep the monuments open until 9 pm once again.

Following this, state-of-the-art electric lights of various hues have been erected around the monuments for better visibility at night and additional security arrangements have been made for the monuments.