SRINAGAR: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday inaugurated Srinagar’s Chrysanthemum Garden for the second consecutive year, inviting residents and tourists to visit the floral attraction and describing it as an effort to extend Kashmir’s tourism season.
Omar urged people from Srinagar and neighbouring areas, along with visitors from across the country, to explore the garden, take photographs and create lasting memories.
The garden, known as Bagh-e-Gul-e-Dawood, was developed by the Department of Floriculture last year to provide an autumn attraction and draw tourists towards the end of Kashmir’s tourism season.
Omar said the initiative was intended to address the absence of a major floral attraction during the latter part of the season, when tourist footfall at the Tulip Garden’s opening period had already passed.
While the Tulip Garden draws visitors at the beginning of the tourism season, the chrysanthemum garden offers another attraction as the season draws to a close, he said.
The Chief Minister said the government wanted Kashmir to offer distinctive floral experiences at both ends of the tourism season.
Expressing satisfaction with the garden’s development, Omar said it had improved considerably since its inauguration last year and would continue to be upgraded in the coming years.
He also highlighted the use of locally available plant material at Bagh-e-Gul-e-Dawood, distinguishing it from the Tulip Garden, which relies on bulbs imported from other countries.
The chrysanthemum plants are propagated and multiplied locally, he said, adding that efforts would be made to introduce new features to the garden every year.
