)Delhi Lt Governor (LG) VK Saxena along with Ambassador of Netherlands to India ,Marisa Gerards, inaugurated the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) Tulip Festival-2025 here on Tuesday.
Saxena and Gerards also visited Tulip exhibition organised at Shanti Path, Chanakyapuri, in presence of NDMC Chairperson Keshav Chandra and Vice Chairman Kuljeeet Singh Chahal. Speaking on the occasion, he lauded the civic body for its effort and the gardeners who have nurtured the flowers with hard work.
Informing that this year 3.25 lakh tulips have been planted, he said, “Some tulips have also been planted in 20 parks of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) this time. As many as 15,000 tulips produced in Palanpur at Himachal Pradesh, are also planted in New Delhi. Our aim is to minimize the dependence on imports in the next four years.”
“We have to make Delhi more beautiful, for which such efforts will continue. The friendship that has been formed with the Netherlands due to this cooperation, a tulip plant has been named Maitri,” the LG said.
In her address, Gerards said, “We are planting the tulips to celebrate the friendship between our two countries. We could see that the city of Delhi was doing so well by growing the tulips. But, of course, there is much more that binds our two countries together than just tulips.”
“We share a strong and friendly relationship that goes back a long way. We collaborate in many important sectors, such as agriculture, health, water management, and innovation. We are very strong partners in these areas,” she added.
It may be mentioned that NDMC began planting its tulip bulbs in 2017-18 as a trial to assess the seasonal suitability. Starting with 17,000 bulbs of tulip, this initiative has since grown significantly, becoming an annual tradition of floral beautification of New Delhi.
This initiative has also proved a great success, making NDMC the first civic body in the country to plant these precious flowers in public space.