PHOTOS: Kashmir's tulip garden a bit 'under the weather'

Kashmir’s famous tulip garden, nestled in the foothills of the Zarbarwan mountain range, was thrown open to the public on Saturday.

The visitors, however, seemed a little disappointed as only a few tulip beds were in bloom. The rest of the tulip plants were still in the budding stage.  

The extended cold and rain have delayed the bloom of the tulips in Asia’s largest tulip garden, which was in full bloom in late March last year.

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The sprawling terraced garden, the brain child of former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, which boasts of nearly two million tulips imported from Netherlands, has been the new tourist attraction. It advanced the tourist season by two months ever since it was inaugurated in March 2008.

The garden has been a major hit with tourists and locals alike who throng it for over a month till the tulip bloom lasts.

Kashmir has been in the throes of a bitter and brutal winter this year and has seen multiple heavy snowfall and incessant spring rains.

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Besides affecting normal life and adversely impacting agriculture, horticulture and floriculture, the rains have inundated several areas even in capital Srinagar. The higher reaches are still receiving snowfall.

The bad weather has not spared the tulip garden either.

The garden, which has been expanding since its inception, received 1.70 lakh tourists last year and generated revenue of Rs 56 lakh from sale of entry tickets.

“I had seen mesmerising pictures of this garden but I was disappointed as few tulips are in bloom. I wanted to walk among the rows of tulips of different colours which was not possible today,” said Anand Kumar, a tourist from Delhi.

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However, a senior officer of the state floriculture department said that most of the tulips in the garden will be in full bloom within the next ten days, if the weather improves.

He said the garden will remain open till bloom lasts, this year, till the beginning of May.

“We are expecting a good number of tourists to visit the garden, but the weather is a playing spoilsport,” he said.

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