Erosion is scarring the Taj

Flaking plaster and stained marble, missing stones and inlay work, minarets and domes crrumbling in a storm—these are all indications of a prolonged structural erosion, possibly from the rusting of concealed iron lugs and dowels used to join together stone slabs in the Taj

Blasted by sand and mining

A major menace is the erosion of marble by the sand-laden winds from the deserts of Rajasthan, and illegal, unbridled sand mining, creating deep pits in the riverbed