Uttarakhand's first tulip garden in Pithoragarh

Uttarakhand's first tulip garden will come up over 50 hectares of forest land in Pithoragarh district at a cost of Rs 50 crore.

The state government has obtained the Centre's nod for development of the garden.

To be developed by the ONGC, under its corporate social responsibility programme in over 50 hectares of forest land near Chandak hill top, the proposed tulip garden will be the country's second after the one located in Srinagar (J&K), state finance minister and Pithoragarh MLA Prakash Pant said.

It will be even larger than the one in Srinagar, he said.

The site in Mad village near Chandak hilltop for the garden to be developed at a cost of Rs 50 crore has been selected under the state Government's '13districts, 13 new destinations' scheme, to attract more tourists to the district, Pant said.

"Weare fully assured of the support from ONGC, asUnion Petroleum Minister DharmendraPradhan hasalreadyapproved the project,said Pant, who metPradhanin Delhi last week.

The petroleum minister has given his nod to the programme; we hope we will be working on it soon, he said.

Tulip, the flower from Holland, blooms from mid March toMay.

The flower can be grown in every hill region as well as in plainsbut the plains cannot produce bulbs of the flower," said I A Khan, a retireddirector of horticultureand food processing.

According to the project officer of thescheme the landavailablefor the project in Chandak hill top isidealfor the growth of theflower as it is situated ata height of 1,950 metres from the seasurface and remains sunnyand cold throughout the year.

After the final shape of the project gets nod from the Union petroleum ministry we will import tulip bulbs from Holland to be planted here said Vinay Bhargava, Pithoragarh DFOand project officer.

According to the project officer, the possibility of tulip growth in Chandak hill top is brighter than that in Srinagar as the height and climate conditions are more suitable in Chandak hill top.

Wehavestarted developing thesitewith thesanctionedamount of Rs 50 lakhfor the projectand expectingsanction of Rs 1 crore next year for the same, Bhargava said.