JK govt gives Rs 4 cr for cold storage facility for tulips

Jammu and Kashmir government has sanctioned Rs 4 crore to build a cold storage facility for post harvest management of tulips at Asia's largest Tulip Garden here.
Minister for Floriculture Altaf Bukhari, who visited the Tulip Garden on the banks of Dal Lake here, asked the department officials to make the Tulip garden an all season garden.
Bukhari sanctioned Rs four crore for the cold storage facility for a better post harvest management, an official spokesman said.
Bukhari asked the Floriculture department to focus on propagation of Tulip bulbs to make Jammu and Kashmir self- reliant in production of Tulip bulbs and also open it for sale to the general public.

In next five years, Jammu and Kashmir should become a self reliant State in production of Tulip bulbs by reducing the level of import of Tulip bulbs to zero, the Minister said.
Bukhari directed to establish a centre of excellence for floral and bulb propagation and instructed the Director Floriculture to formulate a Detailed Project Report in consultation with the experts in the fields of floriculture and horticulture.

He said the state government will take up the matter with the Government of India for funding of the project under Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) for the export of the floral produce of the state to the global market.

Bukhari also instructed Floriculture officers that the available, around five hectares, be fully utilised for a modern nursery.
All the hybrid flowers as well as endemic species of plants should be propagated and made available for planting in departmental gardens and parks and also to be made available to open sale for enhancement in revenue generation, he said.
Bukhari said the underdeveloped portion of the Tulip Garden should be utilised for cultivation of crops like Lilium, Dahlia, Crocus, Daffodil and various other varieties of flowers.
Besides these, the sloppy areas of the Garden should be utilised for orchard plantation for which high yielding varieties of fruit trees like cherry, apple, berries, walnuts, plum, almonds, chestnuts and pecan nuts, he added.