Srinagar, Dec 18 – Asia’s largest Tulip Garden in Srinagar will showcase 1.7 million bulbs, including six new varieties imported from Holland, next year, officials said.
Assistant Floriculture Officer Tulip Garden Asif Ahmad told UNI they have almost completed the sowing of bulbs and cumulatively, 1.7 million bulbs will be displayed in the garden.
He said it would be a million more than the past year.
“We have introduced six new varieties of tulip flowers this year, which have been imported from Holland,, and these will be in addition to the 68 varieties showcased last year,” he said.
He said the Tulip garden would be attractive next year, and we are expecting large numbers of people to visit the garden, and hopefully that will surpass the previous record of 3.65 lakh footfall.
About the extension of the Tulip Garden, he said a Sakura garden is almost completed near the Tulip Garden, and its plantation will be taken up in the years to come.
“We have developed a large chunk of green spaces on about 50 kanals of land in addition for the visitors in the garden this year,” Asif said, adding that “It will provide a scintillating experience for the visiting tourists while sitting in the garden.”.
He said the necessary civil work in the garden has already been completed.
There are more than 100 people, including casual laborers and permanent gardeners, who are taking care of the garden.
He said the planting of tulip bulbs is starting on November 15 and onwards. “By good luck, the weather remained favorable, and we completed the work on time,” he added.
The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden in Srinagar, which is the largest tulip garden in Asia, is spread over an area of about 30 hectares (74 acres). The garden is situated in the foothills of the Zabarwan range, built on sloping ground in a terraced fashion consisting of seven terraces with an overview of Dal Lake.
The garden is likely to be thrown open any time after March 20 next year, depending on the temperature.
Tulip Garden made its entry into the World Book of Records in London in April for being the most beautiful and largest in Asia.
For the past few years, the Tulip Garden has been attracting a large number of tourists from across the world.
A record of over 3.65 lakh tourists visited the garden this year, surpassing all-time previous records.
