Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Mar 13: The Indira Gandhi Tulip garden on the bank of Dal lake that was built by the former Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, with a view to attract tourists to Kashmir in spring will soon lose its specialty and sheen as it is being turned into all season garden.
Spread over 600 kanals of land with around 250 kanals under tulip cultivation, 7-8 lakh tulips will be on bloom later this month. Earlier, there was a proposal to bring more areas under tulip cultivation and to plant 20 lakh tulip bulbs in the garden. But that plan has been shelved and it is being now turned into all season garden.
Sources said that there will be different sections in the Tulip Garden where Lililium, Dahlia, Peony, Hydrandea, Ranunculus, different fruit trees like berry, nuts, Pome and other trees will be planted besides tulips. Later, out of four terraces where tulips are planted now, only two terraces will remain under Tulip cultivation.
The Director Floriculture, Talat Perwaiz says: “We are developing undeveloped parts of the garden and planning to plant different kinds of flowers in different sections. These will be on bloom in different seasons.”
A senior official said that by planting other flowers in the tulip garden, it will lose its peculiarity of being a tulip garden. He said that in 2014 it was declared second best tulip garden in the world by World Tulip Summit Society. “There is no need to plant such flowers in this garden. These flowers can be planted in other gardens which are along Dal lake”, he added.
The official said that main purpose of establishing the Tulip Garden was to attract tourists to Kashmir in spring season which was normally off season. He said that Tulip garden has become so popular that in 2007 around 20,000 people visited it and in 2014 the figures went upto 1.7 lakh with majority tourists.
The officials said that after July the Soil sterilization for tulips is being done in the garden and at that time no tourist can be allowed in as the process is a health hazard. “Planting the other flowers is not a good decision”, he added.
Chairman Travel Agents Association of India, J&K Chapter, Shamim Shah said that it will be disastrous for Kashmir tourism. “It is a landmark. Lot of tourists come in spring just to see tulips. When it is turned into all season garden, it will amount to cheating tourists. It should be confined to tulips only. The other flowers are in other gardens. It is a USP for the State. By this we will lose the prestige of having Asia’s No 1 and world second biggest tulip garden”, he adds.
The leading travel agent of Kashmir, Yasin Tuman, said that it is the USP for Kashmir tourism. “Tulip garden opened a new arena in the tourism sector. Over the years it had developed as USP for Kashmir in spring and was fast becoming very famous among national and international tourists. This will be disastrous. It will have a negative impact on Tourism”, he said.
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