Buoyed by the success of the tulip gardens of Sringar in drawing tourists every spring, officials of the Jammu and Kashmir administration are hoping to replicate the floriculture initiative in other parts of the Union Territory.
Rows of over 15 lakh multicolour tulips of around 70 varieties greet visitors in Srinagar. They bring to mind scenes from Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Silsila (1981). The film’s song Dekha ek Khwab, shot at the Keukenhof tulip gardens in the Netherlands, still captures the imagination of visitors to the Valley.
Tulips are among the first flowers to bloom after protracted winters in Kashmir. The blossoms last only for three to five weeks, depending on the temperature.
Sanasar, a cup-shaped green meadow encircled by tall cedars, in Ramban district in the Jammu province started a four-kanal (0.5 acre) tulip garden in 2017-18 with 28,000 to 30,000 tulip bulbs. Tulips have been grown in terraced beds for a better visual appeal.
“This year, the area earmarked for the tulip garden at Sanasar has been expanded to 35-40 kanals (five acres) with 2.7 lakh tulip bulbs of more than 20 varieties,” officials said.
With the tulips likely to last till April, the Divisional Commissioner’s office in Jammu is trying to bring in more tourists.
Mussarat Zia, Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, described the Sanasar tulip garden as “Srinagar’s kid tulip cousin”.
“Now expanded to 40 kanals, it will spread its fragrance in the last week of March,” Mr. Zia said in a tweet.
In Udhampur district, people are queuing up to see the tulip gardens in a riot of colour. The Floriculture Department has planted 12,000 bulbs of five different varieties at the Highland Park, Kud, Udhampur. The garden has expansion plans.
Published - March 25, 2023 03:49 am IST
