Darbar move to Srinagar deferred amid Covid surge

Jammu, April 15

The J&K administration on Thursday deferred the biannual darbar move to Srinagar saying that the civil secretariat, which is the seat of the Union Territory administration, shall function both in Srinagar and Jammu cities.

As part of the biannual darbar move and the civil secretariat’s shift, other offices and the Raj Bhavan were scheduled to close in Jammu from April 30 to May 1 and set to begin functioning in the summer capital from May 10.

The practice of darbar move, under which the administration functions in Jammu during six months of winter and in Srinagar during summer, was started by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1872 to escape extreme weather conditions in the two regions.

“Darbar move deferred because of Covid. Secretariat to function in both #Srinagar & #Jammu. Office functioning not to be affected because of eOffice,” Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha tweeted.

J&K recorded 1,086 fresh Covid cases on Wednesday taking the infection count to 1,41,736 while five deaths raised the toll to 2,042.

As J&K is witnessing a surge in Covid cases, the threat it poses to people and staff on the move and the implementation of eOffice software in both the secretariat and move offices, it has been decided to defer the darbar move this time, the LG said.

He said office functioning will not be affected as files will move electronically between both the secretariats through eOffice software. — PTI

Ladakh reports 208 fresh infections

• Ladakh has reported an all-time high of daily Covid cases (208) along with one fatality, pushing the virus tally in the Union Territory to 11,278.
• The total number of deaths has reached 132, including 88 in Leh and 44 in Kargil.
• J&K has recorded 1,086 fresh cases. Its infection count is 1,41,736 while five deaths have raised the toll to 2,042.