Two-day apple festival concludes in Shimla

A two-day apple festival, organised with an objective to introduce varieties and boost tourism, drew huge crowds and successfully concluded on Saturday.

The Tourism and Horticulture Departments of the state jointly organised the apple festival here at the state capital.

Hundreds of tourists gathered at the historic Gaiety Complex with over 50 different varieties of apples, apple produces and flowers on display.

Sharing his experience, a tourist from Israel said, "I am amazed to know that these varieties of apples are from India. I didn't know that so many colours and a different sizes of apples are found in the world".

"The organisers say that this festival is not only displayed to draw the attention of tourists but also to educate farmers. They believe that this is an attempt to promote tourism and bring tourists to the apple orchards," said Jaiprakash Sharma, Deputy Director of Horticulture Department.

Local dances were also performed at the event to draw more crowds. The local hotel industry also participated with the farmers. Flowers were also displayed in the festival and over 400 farmers registered themselves in the festival, including 350 apple farmers.

The Director of Tourism and Civil Aviation said: "The farmers believe that this is a good platform for farmers to learn and also to show their products and it will also help in marketing. These farmers say that the tourists visiting here from different corners of the world are getting information about the apple produce here and it will get the farmers to learn and also get a chance to showcase their research.