Need To Control Footfall At Ajanta Caves: Archeological Body's Official

"The presence of a large number of tourists increases humidity inside the caves, causing a negative impact on the paintings there," ASI's Aurangabad circle superintendent Dr Milan Kumar Chauley said.

A senior official of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has expressed the need to control tourist footfall at the world-famous Ajanta caves in Maharashtra to preserve its paintings for a longer time.

The popular UNESCO world heritage site, comprising 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments, is located about 100 km from the Aurangabad district headquarters.

The caves have paintings depicting the life of Gautam Buddha.

Every week, thousands of tourists visit the monument.