Bhaderwah (J&K), Feb 18 (PTI) A three-day snow carnival began in Bhaderwah in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday and drew a large number of visitors.

The carnival, a brainchild of the Army, is being organised to boost tourism in the region, severely hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. It showcases the beauty of snow-filled meadows of Bhaderwah, known as "mini Kashmir" of Jammu region.

Also Read | Hijab Row: Arrest Those Creating Ruckus in Schools, Colleges, Says Union Minister Pralhad Joshi.

The festival was inaugurated by Doda District Development Council chairman Dhananter Singh Kotwal at the snow-filled Jaie meadow, along with Deputy Commissioner Vikas Sharma and Commanding Officer of the Army's 4 Rashtriya Rifles Col Rajat Parmar.

Officials said various snow games were organised as part of the carnival.

Also Read | NSE Scam: Who is Chitra Ramkrishna? All You Need to Know About the Former Boss of India's Top Bourse And The Controversy Surrounding Her.

Col Parmar said the Indian Army intends to help develop Bhaderwah at par with other tourist destinations in Jammu and Kashmir.

He said that the virgin tourism destinations in Bhaderwah have huge potential to attract adventure tourists and it needs to be fully exploited.

He added this carnival can act as catalyst to revive tourism and to explore various unexplored tourism destinations to provide much wider choices to tourists.

Sharma said, "The government has identified various destinations in Bhaderwah where the work for boosting tourism will start and adventure tourism at high-altitude meadows is one of them.”

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)