They are noticed as soon as you leave the famous symbol of India: signs “Save Taj Ganj” and “#WeWantJustice” await tourists and visitors near the small shops surrounding the Taj Mahal. Because traders in the historic Taj Ganj district, home to the 17th century monumente century on three sides are now fighting a battle for survival.
On September 26, the country’s Supreme Court ordered a halt to all commercial activities within a radius of 500 meters around the Taj Mahal. They had until Monday to cease operations. After today, anyone engaging in commercial activities around the historic monument could be prosecuted according to the law.
However, hundreds of small restaurateurs, craftsmen and hoteliers are located at this distance from the enclosure. And for these workers, the closure of their business implies not only the loss of their livelihood, but also the mourning of their family business, many of which have been in operation for decades.
Zai, the shopkeeper of a small marble craft shop, is among those affected by the new law. In front of his business, just opposite the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal entrance, is a sign reading “Justice for Taj Ganj”.
The owner in his fifties looks downcast when asked about the subject. “It’s awful. I can’t do anything else [comme travail] : my family has had this store for generations. This is the case for almost everyone here,” he explains.
The owner of another small business in the area, Ajay Singh, agrees: “All the owners here are sad because we have no other job. We only have that. This is my family’s business. From my grandfather, it passed to my father, then to me,” he says with a sigh.
Like Zai, however, Ajay hopes he won’t have to pack anytime soon. United under the Tajganj Development Foundation, which will challenge the order in a higher instance of the Supreme Court, the hundreds of traders are still clinging to hopes of having their case heard at the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling this week. next.
Nitin Singh, a Taj Magal tour guide – the one who has given a tour to many heads of state like Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau – is the chairman of the group. Being a resident of Taj Ganj himself, he has made it his mission to defend the merchants of his neighborhood to the end.
“When the Supreme Court made its decision, it did not listen to the people most directly affected, those who are suffering the most right now,” he said inside a small shop on the grand driveway to the Taj Mahal.
At his side, Hydar Khan, the owner of Agra Marble, is equally worried. “This store has been here since the 1980s. I’m saddened by the situation. I don’t know what else to do,” he says.
Like many others, Mr. Khan inherited the business from his father and has never known anything but dealing with tourists. If he does have to close up shop, he doesn’t know where he will go.
” There is no [arrangement] for traders. We don’t even know if they will be able to settle elsewhere. There is no plan, ”laments Mr. Singh, who judges that the measure would affect more than 2,000 merchants.
The committee led by Mr. Singh will challenge the Supreme Court order and demand that traders be heard before any decision to ban commercial activities.
The Supreme Court’s decision stems in part from a petition from a group of 71 merchants who had been moved from their original location to a new site near a parking lot, outside the 500 meters from the monument. The said group complained of having had to move, while several commercial activities are still in progress in the close surroundings.
This report was financed thanks to the support of the Transat International Journalism Fund. The duty .