Darbar move will be restored, won’t allow Jammu’s uniqueness to shrink: Omar Abdullah

JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said Jammu’s uniqueness will not be allowed to diminish and asserted that his government will restore Darbar move.

Darbar move, an age-old practice under which the civil secretariat and other government offices used to function six months each in Srinagar and Jammu during summer and winter, respectively.

The practice, introduced by Dogra rulers nearly 150 years ago, was stopped by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha in June 2021, citing administration’s complete transition to e-office which could help save Rs 200 crore per year.

However, the decision came up for sharp criticism from various quarters including Jammu business community and politicians who termed the exercise as a bond between the two regions.

“Darbar move is an issue which I fail to understand why it was not projected during campaigning for assembly polls. The issue gained momentum only after the election result although we have mentioned it in our manifesto and meetings,” Abdullah said.

“We assure you that the Darbar move will be restored. Jammu has its own importance and we will not allow its uniqueness to diminish,” he told reporters after chairing over a three-hour long meeting with representatives of civil society at his official residence here.

Abdullah said the government takes its own decision which does impact the public.

“After a decision, whether its impact is right or wrong, there is a need to get a feedback…sometimes it becomes difficult to get the right feedback within the government system because mostly you are surrounded by people who only praise you. So when a meeting of civil society takes place like this, mostly the participants come without any agenda and put forth their feedback and suggestions which turns out to be beneficial,” he said.

The purpose of this meeting was to get feedback and suggestions as well so that those are implemented, Abdullah said.

The chief minister said such meetings will be convened twice a year both in Jammu and Srinagar — one in summer and another in winter.

“A lot of issues came up during the meeting. As I said in the meeting, all the issues raised were noted down and we will inform the participants about the action taken report in the next meeting,” he said. (PTI)