After a gap of four years, the half-yearly ‘Durbar Move’ resumed in Jammu and Kashmir and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday reached the office at the Civil Secretariat on foot from his official residence. As he passed through Residency Road and Raghunath Bazaar, various business associations including Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry gave him a grand welcome and appreciated his decision to restart the years-old tradition that had been put on hold in 2021.
‘Durbar shifting’ involves shifting of Jammu and Kashmir government offices between Srinagar and Jammu with the changing weather. As part of the Durbar transfer, the Civil Secretariat and other shifted offices in Srinagar were closed on October 30 and 31 and work resumed from the winter capital for the next six months on Monday.
‘Durbar Transfer’ was started by the Dogra rulers about 150 years ago. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had banned it in June 2021, citing a complete change in the e-office of the administration. Sinha had said that this will save about Rs 200 crore annually.
Various sections, including the business community of Jammu, had strongly criticized the decision and had pushed for resumption of the practice, terming it a blow to trade and traditional ties between the two regions. Abdullah fulfilled his election promise by again introducing ‘Durbar Transfer’ on October 16, which brought relief to the business community here.
Abdullah, accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and Minister Javed Rana, left his official residence at around 9 in the morning and walked a few kilometers to reach the Secretariat. During this time, a large number of businessmen who reached there garlanded the Chief Minister and showered flowers and distributed sweets amid the beats of drums during the entire journey.
While going to the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, his security personnel had to struggle a lot to handle the ever increasing enthusiastic crowd. Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Arun Gupta was among the first to welcome the Chief Minister.