Umaisar Gull Ganie
Kokernag, Apr 4: Miscreants vandalised the Center of Excellence for Tulips at SKUAST-K’s Mountain Crop Research Station (MCRS) here in South Kashmir last night, officials said on Friday.
An official said that the miscreants caused massive damage to the newly emerging tourist attraction at Tangpawa Sagam in Kokernag. “Nearly 80% of the tulip cultivation has been destroyed. Fifty thousand tulip bulbs, sourced from the Floriculture Department had been planted in the garden this year,” he said, adding, “FIR has been registered and investigation has commenced to identify the miscreants responsible for the act.”
Dr. Mohammad Ayoub Mantoo, Head of the Mountain Research Centre expressed deep anguish over the damage. “This is a very unfortunate incident. We had just started gaining momentum in local tulip production, and this centre had become a source of livelihood and pride for the people here,” he said.
A local entrepreneur from Sagam said people who had put up stalls have now been left without work, as visitors are unlikely to come after this unfortunate act.
“There was a continuous rush of visitors here—what will they see now? The livelihood of people has come to a halt.”
A tourist from Uttarakhand said they had watched a video on social media and decided to visit the spot, but there was nothing left to see as the tulip bloom has been destroyed.
