A short circuit caused smoke to billow from the Taj Mahal, sparking flames that lasted for more than five minutes

A short circuit at the Taj Mahal on Sunday sent a plume of smoke billowing from the Taj Mahal. Sparks suddenly erupted from the joint of an electrical power line cable running above the chambers on the right side of the South Gate, and the smoke spread rapidly. Tourists were alarmed by the possibility of something untoward happening.

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) employees informed the power supply company, Torrent, following which a power shutdown was implemented. The damaged line was repaired within two hours.

Tourists have been barred from the South Gate for security reasons since 2018. This is the gate through which tourists exit. Around 9:30 a.m. Sunday, sparks suddenly erupted from a joint of the Torrent electrical power line near the South Gate. The fire in the plastic joint caused a cloud of smoke to billow from within the monument.

Plumes of smoke were visible both inside the monument and outside the South Gate. The sparks and smoke continued for about five minutes. After ASI employees informed Torrent, a shutdown was performed, after which the sparks stopped. Following this, a Torrent team arrived at the Taj Mahal and replaced the joint that had burned due to the short circuit.

Tourists are not permitted at this location. Prince Vajpayee, senior conservation assistant at the Taj Mahal, stated that no system at the Taj Mahal was affected by the short circuit. The UPS systems were immediately switched on when the power supply was disrupted due to the short circuit. The Torrent team completed the repairs in about two hours. The monument suffered no damage.