NEW DELHI -- Indians watched with alarm this week as the surging Yamuna River reached the outer walls of the country's most recognizable landmark -- the white-marbled Taj Mahal -- for the first time in 45 years, due to heavy monsoon rains that have wreaked havoc and killed scores in the north of the country.
Apart from highlighting the vulnerability of the 17th-century mausoleum in Agra, into which officials on Wednesday assured media the water was unlikely to enter, flooding has disrupted life across several states in recent weeks. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced, roads have caved in, homes have collapsed, and schools have been forced to close. Waist-deep water at Kaziranga National Park sent rare one-horned rhinos, elephants and deer fleeing to nearby villages, authorities said.
