Srinagar, March 29: The Tulip garden of Indian administered Kashmir was thrown open for visitors by the chief minister of the region Omar Abdullah on Thursday.
Declaring Srinagar Tulip Garden open for visitors this morning here, Omar said the grandeur, serenity, colourful tulip beds full of flowers, beautiful Zabarvan mountain range overlooking the garden and world famous Dal Lake at its base mesmerizes tourists and marks the spring beauty of the Valley.
He said the garden this year has been opened a week earlier so that tourists present here could visit the garden.
“The arrival of over 13 lakh tourists to Kashmir during last year has revived the glory of this sector. Our efforts this year would be to rope in more visitors from India and abroad. Germany has already withdrawn the advisory regarding travelling to Kashmir”, he said expressing the hope that other countries would follow suit.
He said the successful year of tourism last year opened hundreds of avenues of economic activities and livelihood generating ways and means for the people in the State particularly in the Valley.
The Chief Minister said the tourist facilities and services should match the natural beauty Jammu and Kashmir is epitome of. “The cleanliness at tourist places should be the benchmark in the upkeep and maintenance of tourist facilities. The services should be qualitative and hospitality to the highest degree so that the tourists carry its impression along with the scenic splendour of the region and lure them to visit here again and again”, he told the stakeholders.
He said the government is concentrating with the fullest attention to the upliftment of the tourist infrastructure in the State. “The private players in the trade are being provided with a package of incentives to upgrade the service level and tourist facilities,” he said and emphasized on conservation and protection of tourist resorts.
Director Floriculture, Sunil Misri said more than 3.20 lakh tulip bulbs of eight new varieties have been sown in the garden this year. “In all we expect over one million tulips blooming in the garden which is spread over an area of 35 hectares and tulip cultivation is on over 12.5 hectares,” he said.
