Srinagar gets facelift ahead of 'Darbar Move'

Srinagar: Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, is getting a facelift ahead of the 'Darbar Move', a 150-year-old practice of bi-annual shifting of the administrative capital, with workers busy sprucing up roads and walkways.

Roads with potholes are being repaired and getting a fresh coat of paint ahead of the shifting of the Civil Secretariat and other government offices.

The Civil Secretariat, the seat of the Jammu and Kashmir government, will reopen here on Monday -- a week after closing in Jammu, officials said.


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Under the practice of 'Darbar Move', the government functions in Jammu during the six winter months and in Srinagar during the summer. The practice was started by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1872 to escape extreme weather conditions in the two regions.

The practice continued even after independence to provide governance benefits to both Kashmir and Jammu regions for six months.

The shifting of capitals was stopped during the Lt Governor's rule in 2021, but was restored by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in 2025, a year after he assumed office.