SRINAGAR : Darbar Move, seat of the Government, including the offices of Governor, Chief Minister, his cabinet colleagues and bureaucrats, is all set to start functioning in the summer capital, Srinagar, from tomorrow for next six months.
Meanwhile, hundreds of workers, mostly outside painters, were busy cleaning and painting footpaths and roads while security forces and state police deployed additional personnel while traffic police announced a traffic plan for the darbar move.
The seat of the government was closed on April 24 at winter capital, Jammu after functioning from there for six months. Similarly the offices will function from Srinagar for next six months. Hundreds of trucks were used to shift the official record from Jammu to Srinagar. Similar was the case when offices shifted from Srinagar to Jammu in October-November last year.
Similarly, crores of rupees are being spent on TA and DA of employees who shifts alongwith the darbar move. The divisional authorities were busy for the past several months to repair and renovate the official and private accommodation for employees.
Civil Secretariat, which houses the office of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, his cabinet colleagues, all bureaucrats, was given a face lift. The ground and first floor of the secretariat was also affected in devastating flood in September last year, damaging record and furniture.
A correspondent who visited Moulana Azad road saw workers and painters busy giving final touch to roads and footpaths. The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) had put into service hundreds of sweepers to clean the road, which will be used by ministers and bureaucrats to reach secretariat from their official and private residences. A number of flower pots could be seen on both sides of the footpaths.
Besides Road Opening Party (ROP), additional paramilitary forces and state police personnel had been deployed in the civil lines to keep a close watch and thwart any attempt to cause disturbance. Security forces, holding automatic weapons, could be seen deployed on the last floor of the secretariat besides on watch towers keeping a close watch on main road and from others sides with the help of binoculars. Foot patrolling has also been intensified by security forces in the areas adjacent to secretariat.
In 90s militants were targeting civil secretariat by firing rockets and rifle grenades . Darbar Move is the name given to the bi-annual exercise of shifting the secretariat and all other government offices from capital city to another in the Jammu and Kashmir, which is the only state in the country having two capitals.
The tradition was started during Dogra rule in 1872 by Maharaja Ranbir Singh though it evoked opposition by people who alleged that it costs crores of rupees to state exchequer annually. A number of attempts were made in the past to suspend the darbar move which evoked mixed response from the people in the state. People from Jammu opposed the move as large number of people from Kashmir valley and Ladakh region shifts to Jammu during winter when valley is facing harsh winter and shortage of essentials.
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had once said darbar should function from Srinagar during winter when people need the help from the government because of snowfall, power cuts and shortage of essentials. Similarly, he said, offices should function from Jammu in summer when the mercury goes up there. (AGENCIES)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel