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{/googleAds} Details of the programmes outlined during the "tourism festival" suggest there would be heavy presence of Bollywood artistes including Shreya Ghoshal, Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari, Shaan and some others.

"One wonders how these celebrities will project Agra's cultural heritage. Each year in the name of tourism promotion the authorities spend tons of money on inviting film personalities. Foreign tourists hardly have the time or the interest to even go to the festival which remains essentially a tamasha for the locals," commented Shravan Kumar Singh, vice president of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society.

ADM city Arun Prakash however said events would this year be organized at historical monuments other than the Taj Mahal to get the local population involved. "Alongwith classical music, there will be special programmes of folk music, folk dances, mushairas, kavi sammelans," Praksh said.

The Taj Mahotasav started in 1993, to cater to the tourists, is held each year at the sprawling Shilp Gram, 500 metres from the Taj Mahal.

The city administration has announced it will run special buses to bring in the locals to the festival venue.

Tourism industry in Agra is upbeat with introduction of flights and starting of the Yamuna Expressway. "From X-mas there has been a house full situation in the Taj city with everyone from Delhi, Punjab, areas heading for Agra which has a variety of attractions and affordable accommodation, plus the Bharatpur bird sanctuary nearby," says hotelier Surendra Sharma.

With the global investor’s summit January end, Taj Literature Festival early Feb and Taj Mahotsava, the tourist season promises to cheer up the industry which has been in hot waters for sometime.