In India yesterday, the country's Supreme Court ordered an over 200-year old crematorium near the
Taj Mahal to either close down or be replaced by an electric crematorium. According to the
Times of India, smoke from the wooden funeral pyres burning 500 feet away from the Taj Mahal are causing deterioration of the Taj Mahal's marble dome and minarets. The white marble dome is now yellow with pollution from the 25 cremations every day. Pro-Hindu political parties and religious groups oppose moving the crematorium.