Jammu and Kashmir’s six-monthly Darbar Move to the winter capital, Jammu, will take place in a two-day convoy on 31 October and 1 November 2026, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah decided after reviewing the arrangements on 13 October. The meeting was chaired by Omar Abdullah and attended by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary and senior officials, according to Kashmir Observer.
Under the plan, the Jammu and Kashmir Road Transport Corporation and the Traffic Department are to provide enough buses for the two-day convoy, so that employees and records travel safely and efficiently from Srinagar. Commissioner Secretary M. Raju gave a presentation on the transport and logistical arrangements, according to other reports. Medical teams, with doctors, paramedics and ambulances, will be stationed in both Kashmir and Jammu divisions along the route.
Kashmir-based employees who are moving to Jammu will be granted special casual leave in connection with the move, the reports said. The Winter Secretariat will keep functioning in Srinagar with minimal staff, and from November it will operate under monthly rosters for ministers and administrative secretaries. The reports did not give the number of employees who will move or the date on which offices will reopen in Jammu.
Darbar Move is an administrative tradition that dates back to the Dogra Maharajas. Every six months, the Civil Secretariat and the top offices of the government shuttle between the twin capitals, Srinagar in summer and Jammu in winter. The Kashmir Observer described it as “a distinctive administrative tradition of Jammu and Kashmir”. The practice has been questioned from time to time because of its cost and disruption, but it has continued, and the elected government under Omar Abdullah has now made arrangements for another cycle.
The convoy dates arrive when the weather is turning. Fresh snow has already fallen on the upper reaches of the Valley and the Zojila axis, and the Meteorological Department has forecast rain and thunderstorms until 15 October, followed by drier conditions from 17 to 24 October, according to Kashmir Observer. The Srinagar–Jammu highway is the main route for the convoy, and the forecast dry spell before 31 October will be welcome to planners.
According to Wikipedia, the Darbar Move was started in 1872 under Maharaja Ranbir Singh, and the civil secretariat and other government offices were housed in Srinagar from May to October and in Jammu for the other six months. The practice was abolished on 30 June 2021 by the administration under Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, which said that e-office would let work continue in both cities, and was revived in 2025. The 2026–27 move is therefore part of a restored tradition, not an unbroken one.
What to watch: bus and security arrangements on the highway, traffic diversions for the general public during the two days, and the actual reopening date for offices in Jammu. Employees will also look for the notification on the special leave. The move comes as the government approaches its second anniversary on 16 October and a possible cabinet reshuffle. IndiaX24 will report on the formal Darbar Move order and any traffic advisories issued for the highway.
Featured image: The Jammu–Srinagar highway (file photo, 2016). Photo by Akaravadra, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Leave a Reply