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Obama skips Taj Mahal visit despite mammoth clean-up

US president will cut short India trip and fly to Saudi Arabia to pay respects to royal family following death of King Abdullah

n Indian worker cleans a water pond inside the grounds of the Taj Mahal ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit in Agra
An Indian worker cleans a water pond inside the grounds of the Taj Mahal ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit in Agra Credit: Photo: AFP

The spit stains have been washed from the marble, the streets have been scrubbed by an army of 600 and the cows cleared from highways, but now President Barack Obama has abandoned plans for a tour of the Taj Mahal next week.

Officials announced on Saturday that he would cut short his three-day trip to India to instead visit Saudi Arabia and pay his respects to the royal family after the death of King Abdullah.

The king, who died on Thursday, was a staunch US ally, credited by Washington with checking the spread of Iranian influence as well as being a loyal buyer of American military hardware.

The change of schedule will be a blow to officials in Agra, site of the Taj Mahal. The city has been subject to a mammoth clean-up in anticipation of a VVIP visitor.

Last week, India's former chief archaeologist KK Mohammed, who has guided world leaders around the white marbled mausoleum, said: "There are a lot of spit stains and such that need to be washed away. The streets need to be spick and span."

More than two tons of rubbish has been removed from the nearby polluted Yamuna river in just two days, while construction work was halted a fortnight ago to prevent dust blowing through the city.

Mr Obama is due to arrive In India on Sunday for meetings with Narendra Modi, the prime minister, then attend Monday's Republic Day festivities, which mark the day in 1950 that India's constitution came into force.

Relations between the world's two largest democracies are strengthening after recent tensions. Mr Obama and Mr Modi are said to have developed a good rapport during the prime minister's visit to Washington last autumn.

Mr Obama will become the first American president to visit India twice while in office, underlining the country's growing political and economic influence.