<p>With the rise in mercury breaking the record of 76 years in Kashmir, the tourism players are praying against the early blooming at the picturesque Tulip Garden, a major springtime attraction for the tourists, here.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Even as the State Floriculture Department looks ahead to open Asia’s largest Tulip Garden here in the second week of March, a departure of 20 days from the routine, the tourism players have kept their fingers crossed.<br /><br />They plead that early bloom can have a negative impact on the tourism.<br />Nasir Shah, a tour operator said tourists who aspire to visit Tulip Garden have already made their bookings, as per the conventional bloom period, which ranges from the last week of March to mid of April. “Any premature blooming will have a negative impact as the tourists who obviously won’t pre-pone their vacations all of sudden,” Nasir said adding “holidays are not planned like emergency but as per convenience of the prospective visitors.”“We pray to Almighty that there’s no premature bloom and the weather remains cool in the coming days. Clouds have started to hover over Kashmir and we hope our prayers will not go unheard,” he added.<br /><br />Even as the tulips are yet to bloom, some officials within the Floriculture Department believe that if the bulbs bloom early the garden would need to be thrown open for people early. Assistant Floriculture Officer and In-charge Tulip Garden, Imran Ahmad said around 2000 bulbs have already bloomed and few other tulip varieties are showing advanced budding stage.<br /><br />“In last few years, we have witnessed first April an ideal time for opening of garden, but this time, it will be some 20 days in advance,” he told reporters.<br /><br />However, early blooming has added to concerns of the officials as they believe the phenomenon might affect the lifespan of the flowers.<br /><br />“We normally used to witness snowfall as well as heavy rains with minimal temperature in the month of February, but this winter surprised us all and it was like late March in Kashmir during the month of February, which is a cause of concern," said a senior floriculture officer.<br /><br />“Usually, tulip bulbs have 15-17 days of life, this time if the weather remains hot with no rainfall, the lifespan may reduce,” he warned.<br /><br /></p>
<p>With the rise in mercury breaking the record of 76 years in Kashmir, the tourism players are praying against the early blooming at the picturesque Tulip Garden, a major springtime attraction for the tourists, here.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Even as the State Floriculture Department looks ahead to open Asia’s largest Tulip Garden here in the second week of March, a departure of 20 days from the routine, the tourism players have kept their fingers crossed.<br /><br />They plead that early bloom can have a negative impact on the tourism.<br />Nasir Shah, a tour operator said tourists who aspire to visit Tulip Garden have already made their bookings, as per the conventional bloom period, which ranges from the last week of March to mid of April. “Any premature blooming will have a negative impact as the tourists who obviously won’t pre-pone their vacations all of sudden,” Nasir said adding “holidays are not planned like emergency but as per convenience of the prospective visitors.”“We pray to Almighty that there’s no premature bloom and the weather remains cool in the coming days. Clouds have started to hover over Kashmir and we hope our prayers will not go unheard,” he added.<br /><br />Even as the tulips are yet to bloom, some officials within the Floriculture Department believe that if the bulbs bloom early the garden would need to be thrown open for people early. Assistant Floriculture Officer and In-charge Tulip Garden, Imran Ahmad said around 2000 bulbs have already bloomed and few other tulip varieties are showing advanced budding stage.<br /><br />“In last few years, we have witnessed first April an ideal time for opening of garden, but this time, it will be some 20 days in advance,” he told reporters.<br /><br />However, early blooming has added to concerns of the officials as they believe the phenomenon might affect the lifespan of the flowers.<br /><br />“We normally used to witness snowfall as well as heavy rains with minimal temperature in the month of February, but this winter surprised us all and it was like late March in Kashmir during the month of February, which is a cause of concern," said a senior floriculture officer.<br /><br />“Usually, tulip bulbs have 15-17 days of life, this time if the weather remains hot with no rainfall, the lifespan may reduce,” he warned.<br /><br /></p>