Tulips in full bloom, over 45,000 tourists visit garden

SRINAGAR: More than 45,000 tourists have visited the Asia's largest Tulip Garden here since it was thrown open to public 10 days ago.

"The response so far has been very good as over 45,000 tourists have visited the garden since it was opened on March 27," Javaid Ahmad Shah, the official looking after the garden, told PTI.

As tulips are expected to remain in full bloom till the third week of April, at least 50,000 more tourists are likely to visit the garden, he said.

School holidays are beginning soon across the country and 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 Kashmir at this time of the year.

"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.

This year the Floriculture department has outsourced the entry ticketing to the garden.

"A private company bagged the contract by quoting the highest price of Rs 52 lakh," an official of the department said.

Formerly known as Siraj Bagh, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden was opened in 2008 by the then chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad who was the brain behind the garden.

Tulips of all types and colours embellish the 15-hectare garden in the foothills of Zabarwan range, the opening of which has preponed the tourist season in the Valley as people from across the globe flock to Kashmir to see the garden.