The Civil Secretariat, the seat of the Jammu and Kashmir administration, reopened in Jammu on Monday as part of the biannual ‘Darbar Move’ after functioning in Srinagar during the summer season.
The nearly 150-year-old practice was started by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1872 to escape the summer heat of Jammu and the cold winters in Srinagar.
Tight security arrangements have been put in place to ensure smooth functioning of the Civil Secretariat and other move offices, including the Raj Bhavan and the police headquarters in Jammu, officials said.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha arrived at the Civil Secretariat and inspected the guard of honour in the presence of Director General of Police Dilbag Singh as part of the practice of reopening the Darbar move offices.
The Jammu and Kashmir government spends crores of rupees to shift between the two capital cities twice a year, besides paying a similar amount as allowance to the several thousand employees, who shift bases with the government.
The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the Darbar Move from Jammu to Srinagar this summer. The Civil Secretariat and other move offices, which observe a five-day week, closed in Srinagar on October 30, while the offices observing six-day weeks closed the next day.