Trucks carrying official records of 'Darbar Move' reach Jammu

Over 80 trucks carrying official records from the Srinagar Civil Secretariat has reached Jammu amid tight security as part of the biannual 'Darbar Move', under which the Jammu and Kashmir government functions six months each in the twin capitals, officials said on Tuesday. The Civil Secretariat, the seat of the Jammu and Kashmir government, closed in summer capital Srinagar on October 25-26 and will reopen in Jammu winter capital on November 4 as part of the nearly 150-year-old 'Darbar Move', the officials said.

Trucks carrying official records reach Jammu

Around 80-90 trucks have reached the Jammu Civil Secretariat from Kashmir with official records, they said. All the trucks went through anti-sabotage checking and multiple security checks including use of sniffer dogs before being allowed inside the secretariat, the officials said. "The Civil Secretariat and other Darbar Move offices will reopen in Jammu on November 4," an official said.

Senior IAS officer Girish Chander Murmu will begin his maiden innings as Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir from Jammu. The Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will come into existence on October 31. The Modi government had on August 5 abrogated provisions of Article 370 that granted a special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The Civil Secretariat and other 'Darbar Move' offices function in Jammu for six months during winters and in Srinagar for the remaining six months.

The practice was started in 1872 by Maharaja Gulab Singh to escape the extreme heat of Jammu during summers and biting cold of winters in Srinagar. However, the practice was continued by elected governments post-independence in order to provide access to people of both the regions-- by turns -- to the seat of power in the state.

The state government spends crores of rupees every year to shift voluminous records between the two capital cities twice a year, besides paying a similar amount as an allowance for several thousand employees, who shift their base with the government. There have been demands from various quarters to abolish the practice and set-up permanent Civil Secretariats in Jammu and Srinagar cities so that people can get redressal to their problems round the year while saving a substantial amount of the public exchequer.

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