Thousands visit Tulip Garden as Omar Abdullah inaugurates it

SRINAGAR: Thousands of people, mostly tourists from different states, visited Srinagar’s Tulip Garden, soon after Jammu & Kashmir chief minister, Omar Abdullah, inaugurated it on Wednesday.

Nestled on the foothills of the Zabarwan mountains, the garden this year has 15 lakh spring-blooming bulbs featuring over 74 tulip varieties. “Tulip Garden in Srinagar is the largest of its kind in Asia,” a govt spokesman said.

Wearing a Kashmiri pheran and skull cap, Omar took a long walk in the garden, talking to visitors and asking them about their experience. The opening of the garden is a significant move, as it kicks off early tourist season in Kashmir Valley.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, then chief minister of J&K, first opened the Tulip Garden — spread over nearly 55 hectares — to the public in 2007, when thousands of tulip bulbs were imported from the Netherlands for setting up the garden. Since then, it has remained a major tourist destination in the Valley.

“As the Tulip Garden opens today, I recall my dream of building it during my tenure as the chief minister,” Azad said on social media. “In just one and a half years, with collective efforts, it became a global attraction, boosting J&K’s tourism and economy,” Azad said.

“I cannot explain in words what I just saw. It is such a beautiful sight,” a tourist from Maharashtra said.

On the first day, most visitors had booked their tickets online.

This year, the govt introduced an online and QR code-based booking system at several locations, including Srinagar airport, hotels, and the tourist reception centre in the city. Tickets are also available at the garden’s entrance counter. Last year, 4.5 lakh people visited the garden. This year, the government expects the number will be higher.