Delhi's historical monuments reopened their doors on Monday after a gap of three months but footfall remained abysmally low amid the Covid-19 pandemic and on a day the city crossed 100,000 positive cases. The monuments had been shut on March 17 as the country locked down to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Popular monuments such as Humayun's Tomb, Purana Qila, Safdarjung Tomb and Qutub Minar, which reopened on Monday, witnessed low footfall. Red Fort will reopen on Tuesday as per its regular schedule.

For instance, less than 60 and 30 people had visited Humayun's Tomb and Purana Qila, respectively, till 5pm on Monday. Till 6pm, Qutub Minar had a little over 100 visitors on Monday. Before lockdown, Red Fort, Qutub Minar and Humayun's Tomb saw over 10,000 visitors per day.

On Monday, visitors were seen taking a stroll on the mowed grass lawns at these places, clicking selfies, or resting on the footsteps. Security guards on the premises ensured people had their masks on at all times.

Several visitors spotted at these sites on Monday said they ended up there by chance. Dheeraj Deshmukh, 23, a UPSC aspirant from Maharashtra who has been in Delhi for about a year, said he had not stepped out anywhere for around three months.

"I was passing by Purana Qila on my way to run an errand when I noticed it was open. I'm glad I decided to visit the place. It's not crowded like it usually is and one can enjoy the surroundings more. The rain made the experience better," he said.

On Monday, Delhi witnessed light rainfall in some areas. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 36.2 degrees Celsius and a minimum temperature of 26.2 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Of the 171 monuments protected under the Archaeological Survey of India in Delhi, Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb and Qutub Minar are on the list of UNESCO's world heritage sites. They were closed in March due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

Preventive measures have been put in place in the wake of the pandemic, including compulsory e-ticketing, installation of thermal scanners and sanitiser dispensers at gates, a cap on the number of visitors to ensure social distancing, maintenance of records to help with contact tracing if needed, the mandatory wearing of masks, and digital payment at parking lots and cafeterias. Visitors need to show their e-tickets while exiting the monuments as well. The tickets can be booked through the ASI website in two slots: morning and afternoon.

On Monday, those who weren't aware of the online ticketing system took the help of fellow visitors. Rahul Jain, a businessman from Gandhinagar, visited the zoo. "When I saw that it was closed, I came to Purana Qila instead. But they asked for online tickets. A fellow visitor booked the tickets on his phone and we gave him the money," he said.

However, not all visitors came unplanned. Simran Goyal, a Class 12 student from Paschim Vihar, was among those who convinced her family to visit Humayun's Tomb on Monday.

"Due to the lack of clarity over our pending papers and results, the past three months have been very stressful. When I saw on social media that the monuments were reopening, my brother and I requested our parents that we be allowed to visit the monuments since we needed a break," she said.

Asif Khan Dehlvi, the founder of Delhi Karavan, which conducts heritage walks across the city, said that though the people needed such events in times of a pandemic, they would not be conducting them anytime soon. "With the high number of cases being recorded in Delhi, we don't plan to conduct any heritage walk till the curve flattens here. Even if we do announce any walk this year, it will be for a smaller group and in locations where there is ample amount of space so that people can maintain social distancing," he said.

Swapna Liddle, a historian and the convener of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Delhi, said she plans to visit the monuments soon. "Individual visits are less risky compared to heritage walks. So we won't be conducting any heritage walks till we get a go-ahead from the medical experts. However, we have moved online and have been organising talks over social media on Delhi's history and monuments," she said.

Ramit Mitra, the founder of Delhi By Foot, however, plans to start a walk next week depending on the Covid-19 situation in the city.

"We will put some measures in place to ensure that social distancing is maintained at all times and there is no huddling during the walk. We will be using microphones and small loud speakers and we will not include more than 10 people in a group," he said.

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