srinagar:
As part of the pre-independence biannual practice of 'darbar move', the offices will start functioning in the winter capital Jammu from Tuesday.
With the customary guard of honour to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti at the Civil Secretariat, the capital of the state will formally start functioning from Jammu.
The offices that observed five days week were closed in Srinagar, the summer capital on October 27 and those that observe six days week were closed on October 29. Trucks and busses were pressed into service to ferry official records and over 7000 employees to Jammu on October28, 29 and 30 and November 5 and 6. Only one way traffic from Srinagar to Jammu was allowed toply on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway to facilitate the smooth movement of the Darbar employees and the officia lrecords.
Meanwhile, the state unit of the Congress has said that itwould march towards the civil secretariat building and hold a protest against what it termed as the "failed policies" of the PDP-BJP coalition government in the state. Elaborate security arrangements have been made in Jammu in the wake of over 100 days long unrest in the Kashmir Valley triggered after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Burhan Wani on July 8 in an encounter with security forces in South Kashmir.
Security has also been tightened in the wake of recents purt in the attempts of cross border infiltration in Jammu region. "Elaborate security arrangements have been kept in place in the entire Jammu city to thwart any untoward incident. Restrictions on the movement of traffic has also been kept in place at certain places which would remain in force for the next six months," a senior police officer said.
The shifting of 'Darbar' or the seat of governance between the two capital cities of the state was started by theerstwhile Dogra ruler of the state Maharaja Ranbir Singh in 1872 to provide equitable governance to both the capitals ofthe state, but of late the tradition has put a heavy burden onthe state exchequer.
