Covid-19 curtails J&K’s Durbar move

SRINAGAR: Covid-19 has forced the administration of Jammu and Kashmir to curtail the biannual Durbar Move, in which the state secretariat alternates between Jammu and Srinagar cities, a practice that dates back to 1892.

This year, Jammu-based government employees will stay put in the city, winter capital, and only Srinagar-based employees will move to the summer capital once the offices in Jammu close later this month, the General Administration Department of the Union territory said, citing the “extraordinary circumstances” caused by Covid-19 endemic.

“Administrative Secretaries shall make necessary arrangements to ensure the functionality in their respective departments, both at Srinagar and Jammu,” the order said, adding that similar arrangements shall be put in place by the heads of the departments overseeing the Durbar Move.

The treasury and the Jammu and Kashmir Bank branch shall be functional at the civil secretariat in both cities. The order further said employees of the Kashmir division, who are required to move to Srinagar on 25/26 April, shall be provided transport by the Jammu and Kashmir Road Transport Corporation.

“The above arrangement shall be reviewed after assessing the extent and spread of Covid-19 after 15 June 2020,” the order said.

Thee curtailment of the Darbar Move also follows the nullification in August 2019 of Article 370 of the Constitution that conferred special status on Jammu and Kashmir and the conversion of the erstwhile state into two Union territories -- J&K and Ladakh.

Former CM Omar Abdullah questioned the decision in a series of tweets and sought its withdrawal. “If it is safe for Kashmiri employees to move to Srinagar why not Jammuites?.”

He added: “If the files remain in Jammu, what work will the Kashmiri employees do in the Srinagar secretariat? If the files move to Srinagar what work will be done in Jammu?” Abdullah wrote in another tweet: “This order regarding the biannual ‘durbar move’ is just mindless rubbish at worst & needless tokenism at best. So the offices can’t shift to Srinagar because of #Covid_19, I get that. What I don’t get is what Srinagar secretariat will do without files or senior officers?.”