'Vote for Taj' campaign a hoax, say officials

Agra: The credibility of the much-hyped campaign to vote the Taj Mahal as one of the world's new seven wonders is now in question.

"The New 7 Wonders of the World" campaign has been launched by the owner of a Swiss website.

"The whole campaign is a media hoax," says Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society here.

"How can the whole government machinery be used to hype a campaign launched by a private entrepreneur?"

Sudhir Kumar, the Agra chief of the Indian government's tourism department, admitted that the campaign was a private one and those supporting it were doing so in their private capacity.

"The campaign is not backed by any government agency, though we feel it is good and in the interest of the tourism industry as a whole to promote the Taj Mahal," Kumar told IANS.

K Mishra, a senior official in the Uttar Pradesh tourism department, said his office had nothing to do with the campaign.

'Economic exploitation'

KK Sharma of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) here described the campaign as "economic exploitation of the sentiments of the Indian people. No two monuments are alike and they should not be compared.

"It is an injustice to the status and dignity of the Taj Mahal."