Arjumand Shah
Srinagar, May 4 (KINS): With move offices partially reopening here in Srinagar on Monday, the authorities were busy giving a fresh look to the summer capital.
The Roads and Buildings department and Srinagar Municipal Corporation were busy in cleaning foot paths, road dividers and fencing.
Interestingly, the R&B authorities had launched the drive to repair roads, on the routes often used by the top officials to reach Civil Secretariat when there was a complete lockdown in the wake of deadly coronavirus.
From last one week many painters were seen painting some major roads leading to the Civil Secretariat. “There were also repair works on roads leading to the civil secretariat here in Srinagar city,” the officials told news agency KINS.
At Budhshah Bridge R&B department employee were seen in a huddle preparing macadam to fill the potholes and damaged patches of the road stretch leading to the Civil Secretariat.
However, in the ongoing crises of covid- 19, the practice has drawn flak from the general public. “They could have avoided it as we all know that there is a complete lockdown announced to prevent the deadly coronavirus. How it is possible for workers to maintain social distancing when they are on work,” they said.
The locals said that the department was just presenting a rosy picture of a particular area to appease the higher officials.
However R&B department said that this is a part of their annual repairing and maintenance program. “We are repairing and painting the roads afresh ahead of the opening of the Darbar here,” one of the officials in the R&B department told KINS.
With this, he said, the department starts the fresh works of the New Year.
It is to mention here that Chief Engineer R&B has told KINS that all precautionary measures like providing masks and gloves for workers engaged in the work were in place and it is ensured that proper social distancing is maintained while repairing the roads.
“Repair works of all roads in Srinagar will be done in the coming days. It is not that we are repairing the roads leading only to civil secretariat. We have floated tenders for all the roads in Srinagar,” he had said.
Darbar Move in J&K is a 138-year-old tradition started by Dogra rajas. But the practice continued after 1947.
Dr Farooq Abdullah had to face stiff resistance from Jammu lawyers when he tried to abandon the practice in the ’80s. Finally he gave up the idea.
The practice of Durbar Move was started in 1872 by the then ruler of J&K, Maharaja Gulab Singh. In May, Darbar opens in Srinagar and closes on October 31 to open in Jammu on November 10.
The state government annually spends Rs 10 crore for moving the offices, records and employees to Jammu in November and then back to Srinagar in May.
More than 40 offices and their sub-departments move in full after functioning for six winter months in Jammu while 45 departments move in camp. The latter carry 33 per cent of their staff strength.
All the move offices, apart from the manpower and other office paraphernalia, shift truck-loads of official records every six months. (KINS)
