Watchtowers, CCTV to keep an eye on the Taj Mahal

Tourists stand in front of the historic Taj Mahal in the northern Indian city of Agra January 17, 2009.

AGRA (Reuters) - Watchtowers and close-circuit televisions will help secure the Taj Mahal, one of the world's most visited monuments, as the busy tourist season begins in India, a senior police officer said.

Based on input from intelligence agencies, security at the Taj Mahal, a stunning 17th century marble mausoleum, has been beefed up, said Brijbhooshan Singh, a deputy inspector general of police in Agra, about 200 km from New Delhi.

The paramilitary Central Industrial Security Force is responsible for protecting the monument, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Now its officers, and the police, will also man eight watchtowers that ring the monument.

"The security personnel at the tower would be able to keep a tight vigilance," Singh said, adding they had also installed barricades and CCTVs at the showpiece monument built by Mughal ruler Shah Jahan after the death of his favourite wife Mumtaz.

"We plan to come up with more things in the future. We are still working on them," Singh said.

Security at public places in India has been stepped up following last November's attacks in Mumbai by militants, whose targets included a busy train station and two luxury hotels.

Tourist arrivals into India, whose main tourist season runs from November to March, plunged immediately after the attacks. This year, it is expected that a gradual economic recovery and heightened security will help bring in more tourists.

"I think security is very important because it would be a great tragedy to have anything happen to it," said Rosina Wilson, a tourist at the Taj Mahal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that combines elements of Persian, Indian and Islamic architecture.

"Everyone in the world knows about the Taj and what it represents," she said.

(Reporting by Reuters Television; Writing by Rina Chandran; Editing by Alex Richardson)