Srinangar
More than 42,000 tourists have visited Asia’s largest Tulip Garden in Srinagar since it was thrown open to public since April 5. “The response so far has been very good,” Imran Ahmad, the official looking after the garden, said. With tulips expected to remain in full bloom till the first week of May, at least 80,000 more tourists are likely to visit the garden, he added. The opening of gardens was delayed by almost by a week this year with tulips not blooming owing to heavy snowfall in mid March. But now, they are in full bloom and may remain longer in garden till the first week of May.
Tulips are very delicate flowers and Kashmir’s weather Kashmir suits them. More than 12 lakh tulips of 12 varieties have been grown in the garden. Formerly known as Siraj Bagh, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden was opened in 2008 by then chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad who was the brain behind the 15-hectare garden in the foothills of Zabarwan range.
With school holidays beginning soon across the country, there is an expectation of heavy influx of tourists in the coming days, an official of the tourism department said. He said Tulip Garden has become a star attraction for tourists visiting Jammu and Kashmir at this time of the year. The ongoing Lok Sabha elections across country have not seen any decrease in number of visitors. “The garden has helped in not only advancing the tourism season in the Valley but has also become an added attraction for them to stay longer,” the official said.
Read the full report here, India Today
