SRINAGAR, Apr 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tweets praising the beauty of Jammu and Kashmir gave momentum to the flow of tourists visiting Kashmir valley, especially the Tulip garden on the foothills of Zabarwan in Srinagar.
“Jammu and Kashmir is beautiful, and even more so during the Tulip season”, the Prime Minister had said in a recent tweet.
“The impact of Prime Minister’s tweet regarding Jammu and Kashmir and Tulip season had a good effect and tourist inflow to the Tulip Garden is on high note”, Shayiq Rasool, Floriculture officer of Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden said.
He said the flow of tourists is higher compared to 2022 and 2.65 lakh visitors visited the Tulip Garden in the last 20 days. On an average, 13,000-14,000 tourists visit the garden daily and on Sunday the flow crosses 20,000 to 25,000.
Shayiq Rasool said that “when a tweet on a particular purpose is being floated on the highest level it definitely has a good impact on the subject”, adding “Last year the Prime Minister also tweeted and that also had a marked impact on the arrival of the tourists to the Tulip garden”.
He said more than two Lakh domestic tourists from West Bengal, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and from the southern states are currently on a visit to Kashmir valley besides this a good number of foreigners also thronged to the Tulip Garden this year so far.
He expressed hope that the previous year’s record of 3.60 lakh visitors will be surpassed this year if weather remains favorable.
Tourists are very happy enjoying the scenic beauty of Asia’s second largest Tulip Garden on the foothills of Zabarwan near the famed Dal Lake, Shayiq Rasool said.
He said the rush of domestic tourists is satisfactory and more and more are visiting day by day as the weather continues to be pleasant.
“The Tulip Garden looks like a colorful carpet with a sea of flowers spread on the lap of the Zabarwan hills mesmerizing the visiting tourists”, he said, and added “the tourists feel they have reached heaven when they enter the garden”.
He said last year 159 foreign tourists visited the Tulip garden and this year so far 1400 have thronged and many more are expected to come.
“It is a Tulip festival going on like a Mela and if one sees a huge rush of visitors is visible on the road leading to the Tulip garden near Dal Lake”, he added.
He said for tourists who are visiting Kashmir valley presently, Tulip Garden remains the main attraction before moving to other places.
Regarding the time frame of Tulip garden, Shayiq Rasool said that “there is no fixed calendar for how long the garden will remain open. He said it is day 21 today and if the weather remains favourable and there were rain showers in between that will allow the garden to survive for a long time. He said presently the garden is in full bloom.
He said if temperature remains favourable and weather stays good the tourist rush will continue at least till one month.
He said as long as the period of Tulip Garden continues it will have a good impact on the economy of the state. (Agencies)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
