JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday issued orders for the closure of the Darbar Move offices in the summer capital Srinagar on October 31, hours after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced restoration of the tradition.
On Thursday night, General Administration Department Commissioner Secretary M Raju issued the formal order for the restoration of the Darbar Move.
“The offices, in this order, shall move to Jammu ‘in full’ and ‘in camp’, respectively, from the winter season 2025-26. The offices observing a five-day week shall close at Srinagar on October 31 after office hours, and the offices observing a six-day week shall close on November 1 after office hours,” the order stated. According to the order, all offices shall reopen at Jammu, the winter capital, on November 3.
The offices moving ‘in camp’ shall carry only 33 per cent of the staff strength in that particular office, or 10 officials, whichever is minimum, or as otherwise specifically indicated.
While 39 offices, departments, and organisations, including the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, will move in full strength, 47 others will move in camp, it said.
The Darbar Move traces its origins to 1872 under Maharaja Ranbir Singh, the Dogra ruler who began transferring the royal court between Srinagar and Jammu to escape the extreme weather in both regions. Under this system, government offices functioned from Srinagar during the summer months and shifted to Jammu in the winter.
The exercise involved the movement of nearly 10,000 employees, along with records, computers, and furniture, with dozens of trucks carrying files and equipment across the Jammu-Srinagar highway twice a year.
