New Delhi, Feb 11 (PTI) Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Tuesday inaugurated the 12-day tulip festival in the national capital.
At the inauguration, Ambassador of the Netherlands to India Marisa Gerards said the tulip is the Dutch national flower that symbolises friendship between the two countries.
Saxena, along with Ambassador Gerards and NDMC Chairperson Keshav Chandra and Vice-Chairperson Kuljeet Chahal, inaugurated the third edition of the festival and visited the exhibition organised by the New Delhi Municipal Council at Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri.
The NDMC imported 3.25 lakh tulip bulbs from the Netherlands in 2025 and planted 2.25 lakh in open spaces, including 1.46 lakh bulbs at Shanti Path alone. Some tulips have also been planted in 20 Delhi Development Authority (DDA) parks.
Speaking to PTI, Gerards said, “We are planting the tulips to celebrate the friendship between the two countries. It is wonderful to see Delhi flourishing with these flowers.” She added that India and the Netherlands share a strong and longstanding relationship, collaborating in key sectors such as agriculture, health, water management, and innovation.
Addressing the event, LG Saxena said, “As many as 15,000 tulips have been produced in Palanpur at Himachal Pardesh, developed in India itself which are also planted in New Delhi and our aim is to minimise the imports of these flowers in next four years.” He further said that efforts to enhance Delhi’s beauty will continue and, as a mark of Indo-Dutch cooperation, a tulip variety has been named ‘Maitri’ to symbolise friendship.
NDMC first planted tulip bulbs in 2017-18 as a trial to assess their seasonal suitability. Starting with 17,000 bulbs, the initiative has grown into an annual floral tradition in New Delhi, according to a statement.
Through storage and multiplication trials, NDMC has produced 10,880 large tulip bulbs, which have also been planted this year.
“In collaboration with the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology–CSIR, 14,735 bulbs were cultivated in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, and used for this festival,” the statement added.
For the first time, NDMC has potted one lakh tulip bulbs for sale to the general public. These are available at Shanti Path Lawn, Lodhi Garden, Nehru Park, Talkatora Garden, Central Park, and NDMC nurseries, it stated.
This spring, tulips are in full bloom at various locations across New Delhi, including Shanti Path Lawn, Central Park at Connaught Place, NDMC Convention Centre Lawn, Lodhi Garden, Talkatora Garden, Sardar Patel Marg, Mandi House, Windsor Place, and Sher Shah Suri Marg, it added. PTI SHB SHB NB NB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.