Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Apr 17: The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, Asia’s largest and a major tourist attraction here, witnessed a sharp decline in footfall this year, with visitors dropping by more than 50 per cent, officials said on Friday.
The garden had recorded its highest ever footfall last year, with 8.55 lakh visitors, they said.
This year, however, only 3.90 lakh visitors — including about 1200 foreigners– visited the garden, the officials said.
“This year, 3.90 lakh visitors visited the Tulip garden. Among them were 1222 foreigners, and 2.89 lakh domestic tourists,” Assistant Floriculture Officer Incharge Tulip Garden, Imran Ahmad said, adding that about 1.6 lakh locals also visited the site.
The garden, a key tourist attraction during the spring season, was closed to the public on Thursday as the bloom came to an end.
Located on the banks of the famous Dal Lake here, the garden was thrown open to the public by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on March 16 — a week ahead of schedule due to an early bloom triggered by rising temperatures.
It was added to the tourist spots of Kashmir in 2008 by then chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to attract tourists to the valley in the lean spring season. More than 70 varieties of tulips were on display as the floriculture department increased bulb density to enhance the garden’s visual appeal.
The garden had closed last year in April — two days after the Pahalgam attack, which forced most tourists to abandon their tour or cancel their bookings. According to officials, the garden recorded 4.45 lakh visitors in 2024, 3.75 lakh in 2023, 3.62 lakh in 2022, and 2.25 lakh in 2021.
The garden remained closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 lockdown. In earlier years, it recorded 2.59 lakh visitors in 2019, 1.9 lakh in 2018, 1.50 lakh in 2017, and 1.75 lakh in 2016, the officials added. |
