Tripods still prohibited at Taj Mahal?

Hello, has anyone visited the Taj Mahal recently? Are tripods still

prohibited? I plan on bringing my tripod on my India trip anyway

(it's just a compact Velbon tripod that easily fits in my backpack

when fully retracted), but I can't seem to find a straight answer on

whether I can use it on the grounds of the Taj. If they're

prohibited, do guards enforce the rules?

 

A similar posting from a few years ago mentioned something about

applying for a tripod permit from some kind of Indian architectual

ministry. Does this sound familiar to anyone? If such a permit

still exists, perhaps I have enough time to obtain one since I don't

leave until November.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Arnie

They were banned in January, and I can't see it changing.

You go through to metal detectors and they manually search your bags.

The best pictures I have seen of the Taj Mahal were taken from outside the grounds! From inside the grounds, it's been done to death. I have never been, but if you want pictures people will look at for more than a second, that is probably the place to go. No permit needed!

Not only banned at the Taj Mahal but also at every other

monument of note around Agra/Delhi. The staff do enforce the

rules to the point that at several sites I had to return to my car to

leave the tripod there as they wouldn't accept the admission

money while I was carrying one. At the Taj Mahal your

possessions will be searched so there's little chance of

sneaking one in and in any case you'd be spotted in a moment

as soon as you used it.

 

I was told that one can apply to the Ministry of Archaelogy ? in

Delhi for a permit, though I didn't have time to do so.