Why pay for Venice? See the Taj for free

Venice is divided - not just by canals, but since Thursday 8.30 am after the city started charging visitors Rs 5 (about Rs 450) for entering it. Paying a toll to enter Venice is being tried out as a plan to control 'over-tourism'. Many Venetians aren't happy. They don't like the notion of curtailing freedom of movement - well, after the likes of us have to pay a solid pile as Schengen visa fees and navigate red tape redder than a communist - without solving the actual problem. But it is probably not very pleasing to be viewed as residents of a sort of Disneyland, or arguably even worse, museum pieces to be encountered after you've bought a ticket at the counter.

Well, whatever be the ways of Venice, this provides us in India with an excellent opportunity to junk the rather pointless entry fees to our heritage, archaeological and historical sites once and for all. The silliness of entry fees for the Taj Mahal in Agra, for instance, is extreme: Rs 50 for Indian citizens on weekdays (it's closed on Fridays), Rs 540 for citizens of Saarc countries, and Rs 1,100 for all other non-Indian citizens. Never mind the currency exchange, the optics of ticketing apartheid is terrible. Instead of getting into who should pay what, just scrap Taj ticketed entries. And advertise: 'Why pay extra for visiting Venice, when you can come to Agra and see the Taj for free?'