Srinagar, Aug 14: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday felicitated 12 winners of competitions held during the Tulip Show and Badamwari Spring Festival, recognising their creativity and contribution to promoting J&K’s floral heritage.

The winners, many of them students from government schools, received cash prizes and certificates at a felicitation ceremony.
The competitions covered painting, Instagram reels and photography, with winners selected for the Tulip Festival 2026 and Badamwari Almond Festival 2026.
In painting, Farhan Ali Bhat, Soleha Tanveer and Roja Fayaz secured the top three positions in the Tulip Festival competition, while Ahmreen Bashir, Mir Maryam Zaffar and Hanzala Shafiq won the first three positions in the Badamwari competition.
In the Instagram Reel category, Salman Ahmad Wani, Shazeeb Iqbal and Ayush Anand emerged winners, while Umair Wani, Saba Reshi and Sharafat Khan secured the top three positions in photography.
Omar Abdullah said the competitions were aimed at nurturing young talent while promoting J&K’s iconic gardens through contemporary platforms. He noted that painting captured the beauty of the gardens artistically, while photography and reels helped showcase them to a wider audience through social media.
The Chief Minister said initiatives combining creativity, technology and tourism promotion could give greater visibility to J&K’s floral attractions and encourage wider participation among students and young people.
He later inspected the winning paintings, photographs and Instagram reels and appreciated the participants for their creativity.
Senior officials of the Floriculture Department, awardees, participants and media representatives attended the ceremony.