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Tulips in full bloom in Srinagar, but no visitors amid Covid-19 lockdown
Covid-19: The tulips, which have turned the 30-hectare Siraj Bagh into a sea of colour, haven’t had a single visitor to enjoy its blooming splendour since March-end, officials said amid growing concerns over the jolt to tourism in Kashmir Valley during high season due to the viral outbreak.
This year over 1.3 million tulip bulbs in Srinagar will quietly wither away over the next week without catching an eye of a visitor because of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, which has led to the enforcement of the ongoing nationwide lockdown till May 3.
The tulips, which have turned the 30-hectare Siraj Bagh into a sea of colour, haven’t had a single visitor to enjoy its blooming splendour since March-end, officials said amid growing concerns over the jolt to tourism in Kashmir Valley during high season due to the viral outbreak.
“Covid-19 is wreaking havoc on the tourism sector, one of the mainstays of our local economy. The tulip plantation was increased from 1.2 million bulbs in 2019 to 1.3 million this year. We’re hopeful that it would give a fillip to tourism. Alas! The flowers will wither away over the next few days,” said Farooq Ahmad Rather, director, floriculture, Jammu and Kashmir.
The picturesque tulip garden --- one of the biggest in Asia and located on the foothills of Zabarwan range and on the banks of majestic Dal Lake – grew over 55 varieties of red, yellow, pink tulip bulbs this year. The garden attracted 258,000 visitors, including many local Kashmiris, last year. The corresponding figure for 2018 was 190,000.
“This year, we had increased the variety of tulips and the plantation area, as we’re hoping for more footfalls,” Rather added. The state horticulture department spends around Rs 70 lakh annually for the regal garden’s maintenance.
“The tourism sector is reeling under a massive loss because of the Covid-19 outbreak. The setback will affect all those who are associated with the sector such as hoteliers, transporters, traders and houseboat owners,” Rather said.
“Around 258,000 people visited the garden last year, of whom over 100,000 would have been tourists helping our local economy,” he added.
The Tulip Garden was opened in 2007 on a slope with multiple terraces and overlooking the scenic Botanical Garden. The state floriculture department had imported tulip bulbs from the Netherlands and other European countries for the garden. Besides tulips, hyacinths, pansies, daffodils and ranunculus make the garden a one-stop destination for revellers during spring.
Usually, the shelf life of a tulip is 15 days but floriculturists have increased the life span by adding late-blooming varieties. “Earlier, we used to grow only early and mid-blooming varieties. But the addition of late bloomers has ensured that the Tulip Garden remains open for a month around this time of the year,” said Shayeq Rasool, state floriculture officer.
