Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir government’s Civil Secretariat and other offices will close in Srinagar on October 31 and reopen in the winter capital Jammu on November 10, as part of Darbar Move, a century-old practice under which government functions six months each in the two capitals.
“The Secretariat and other offices shall move to Jammu in full and in camp, respectively, for winter Season, 2014-15. All the offices shall reopen at Jammu on 10th November,” Secretary to General Administration Department, M A Bukhari said in a government order.
All departments of the Civil Secretariat including Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Personal Staff of Ministers, DGP’s office and 50 other offices will move in camps to Jammu with 33 per cent of their staff.
The Civil Secretariat offices at Srinagar will close on 31st, while the offices outside Secretariat will be shut down by November 1, the order stated.
It has been ordered that the offices moving in camp will carry only 33 per cent of the strength of staff in that particular office or with 10 officials whichever is minimum, Bukhari said.
J&K SRTC has been asked to provide sufficient number of buses for transporting Jammu-based employees on November 1, 2 and Kashmir-based employees on November 8, 9. Trucks carrying government records and other materials will leave Srinagar for Jammu on November 2.
Police have also been directed to escort the employees’ buses and the records convoy all along the route up to their respective destinations, Bhukari added.
The state government shifts its capital from Jammu to Srinagar in the first week of May every year and functions here for six months before moving back to Jammu along with volumes of records.
The 141-year-old practice was started by the Dogra Maharaja of the state Ranbir Singh in 1872 to escape the extreme weather conditions in Jammu during summers and in Srinagar during winters.
The practice continued after Independence also so that people from both Jammu region and Kashmir valley have equal access to seat of power during the year.