Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on Wednesday threw open for visitors Asia’s largest tulip garden. Situated in Srinagar and known as the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, the park has 1.5 million tulip bulbs that will bloom during the next one month.
Srinagar tulip garden has become a major attraction for tourists as well as locals, who come in large numbers to the park each year to see the blooms.
CM Omar Abdullah went round the garden after throwing it open for visitors. He expressed hope that the garden would continue to remain an iconic tourist milestone in Kashmir’s tourist industry.
It is the largest tulip garden in Asia spread over an area of about 74 acres. It is situated at the base of the Zabarwan mountain range, built on a sloping ground in a terraced fashion consisting of seven terraces with an overview of the Dal Lake.
The garden was envisioned in 2007 by Ghulam Nabi Azad, the then Chief Minister of J&K with the aim to boost floriculture and tourism in the Kashmir Valley.
It was formerly known as Siraj Bagh and about 1.75 million tulip bulbs, all in multiple colours, were brought from tulip gardens of Amsterdam.
Besides tulips, there are 46 varieties of flowers, including hyacinths, daffodils and ranunculus which were also brought from Holland.
The tulip garden is home to around 75 varieties of tulips. Entry to the tulip garden is regulated through tickets sold to visitors.
Tulip festival is an annual celebration that aims to showcase the range of flowers in the garden as a part of tourism efforts by the government of J&K. It is organised during the onset of spring season in Kashmir Valley.
Tulip has its origin in Persia (Iran) and was introduced in Europe in the 17th century, where it had been developed in different varieties. Holland is the largest producer of tulips, which inhabits the mountain areas extending from Europe to Central Asia. The plantation of tulips begins from September, before the start of the winter season.
(IANS)
