Bazila Nabi
Darbar move is the name given to the bi annual shift of the secretariat and all other government offices of the Jammu and Kashmir from one capital to another. From May to October, governmental offices are housed in the state’s summer capital,srinagar,and the other six months in its winter capital,jummu.The Tradition was started during Dohra rule in 1872 by Maharaja Ranbir singh.the Semi_annual exodus was introduced 90 years ago to escape the kashmir winter which was not only severe but,in those days, also completely cut the valley off from the outside world.The Royal entourage usually took the Banihal Cart road through the Pir Panchal range and the lesser officers would reach Jammu via Rawalpindi and Sialkot. At the time less than one hundered people were involved in the move. Today it is a mass Exodus of around 1 lakh government employees that puts an additional burden of rupees 5 crore on the state exchequer.Time_wise,8 weeks are wasted yearly, which means a further loss of rupees 40 lakh.
I just want to ask a Question to higher Authorities that who is Responsible for such loss which our state suffers every year? No Doubt,we are presently living in 21th century but it is Quite unfortunate that permitting sach unnecessary Exercise puts j & k state back to 19th century ! From New Delhi to kashmir,rulers need to understand the demerits of this unnecessary practice and take a bold step by making Srinagar, the permanent capital of the state .it is located in the heart of j & k and making it the sole capital of the state would be politically and geographically correct .Bad weather conditions can never be an excuse to continue with the” Darbar move” tradition .If Himachal Pradesh can have only one capital,Why not J & K ?
Moscow is the world’s third coldest capital city where the average temperature in winter is minus 10 °c, whereas the average temperature in Srinagar in winter is around 3°c .If Russia can have single capital then Can’t J & K have it? Let’s not forget also if bigger states like UP and MP can be run from one capital, why not J & K??????
(The author is a freelancer. Views are her own)
