A two-day cultural festival showcasing various tourist destinations in Bhaderwah town, a mountainous hill resort in Doda district, started today.Perched securely among the mountains at an average height of about 5000ft above sea level the valley of Bhaderwah is approximately 6 km length and 4 Km breadth.The Bhaderwah Valley is situated North East of Jammu at a distance of about 200 Km and is bounded by Chamba State of Himachal Pradesh in South East Kishtwar in the North and Doda in West."We want to show case Bhaderwah and its various tourist destinations to attract foreign and domestic tourists," State Tourism Minister Priya Sethi said while inaugurating the festival today.Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti , who was expected to open the festival, could not arrive due to some busy schedule . Sethi said that government is focussing on the development of Bhaderwah in a big way.The massive tourism development in the area will not only give boost to economy of the area and state but will also help immensely in transforming socio economic condition of the people of the region by creating job opportunities for the unemployed youth, she said.The Bhaderwah Development Authority (BDA) expects large number of tourists during the festival, which is showcasing culture, heritage and tradition of the mountainous hill resort.A colourful cultural bonanza was also presented on the occasion. The folk dances like Dhiku dance, Bhaderwahi folk songs, Padderi, Pogali dance, Kashmiri and Dogri songs, and many other programmes kept the audience spell bound.The minister also inspected the stalls established by various departments of the district, creating awareness about various welfare and beneficial schemes of the government.“To divert the tourists towards erstwhile District Doda we need to attract them towards our unexplored destinations and such type of festivals help a lot in showcasing these to a good number of people” MLA Bhaderwah Daleep Singh Parihar asserted.He said that Bhaderwah was world famous for its pilgrimage sites, and it was the right time to explore the pilgrimage tourism potential of the area. He said that various initiatives have been taken up to upgrade the tourism infrastructure in Bhaderwah. Chief Executive Officer BDA Bal Krishan presented welcome address and annual report of the authority . He said that the area has huge potential and it can attract the tourists from India and across the globe. He said that the motive behind organizing tourism-cum cultural festival was to explore and boost the tourism activity in the District, besides preserving the local cultural heritage. He said that tourism is the vital and important component of state’s economy and district as well which will definitely get a boost by such events.