Jammu, August 2:
During his visit to Jammu, Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday met with members of the District Congress Committee Jammu (Urban) to discuss party affairs. The deputation which consisted of seniors district Congress leaders from Jammu East, Jammu West, Gandhi Nagar Assembly constituencies was led by Former Minister Yogesh Sawhney Ex-MLA Jammu (East). The deputation discussed burning issues including statehood and cancellation of Darbar Move in Jammu and other party affairs with Azad during the meet.
In the meeting, the former CM of J&K instructed the District Congress leaders to prepare for a massive Agitational Programme to fight for complete statehood for Jammu Kashmir. The revocation of statehood has brought immense hardships to Jammu Kashmir, he said. From jobs to land, the citizens of J&K have been deprived of many opportunities. We don’t want the kind of polity present in Delhi or Pondicherry but we seek complete statehood with full political rights for our citizens. The deputation also expressed strong concerns for the businesses across the Jammu city who are upset with the cancellation of the Darbar Move. They said that the decision to end Darbar Move would hurt the economy of Jammu city. To which he stated that the party stands against the cancellation of the Darbar Move as it adversely affects the economies of both cities and said that the party workers should create awareness about the drawbacks of this decision of the government, especially the disadvantages to the business community here.
Along with Yogesh Sawhney, From Jammu East :- Ritu Choudhary (Councillor), Chandershekhar Sharma, Ram Magotra, From Jammu West Dr. Ramakant Khajuria, Uttam Singh, Rajesh Sharma, From Gandhi Nagar:- Sat Pal Sapolia, Vijay Chib were part of the delegation that met with him.
As part of the 149-year-old practice, the Darbar Move included the bi-annual shift of the secretariat and all other government offices of Jammu and Kashmir from one capital city to another. When the government decided to end this practice, the business community in the twin capital cities expressed strong resentments against it as the move favoured and boosted their economies due to an increase in business activities and sales.
The economy was already badly hit due to the economic crisis that engulfed the country during the pandemic and cancellation of the darbar move will further mean huge losses to them. With the mobilisation of people from Srinagar to Jammu during the winters people in huge numbers came to the streets and shops of Jammu and this mobilisation brought economic prosperity. Many small and independent businesses completely relied on this influx of people for their livelihoods, said Sawhney. However, with that opportunity being out of the picture now, there is a bleak uncertainty for them in the future. Had the government provided equally flourishing opportunities to businessmen in Jammu to replace the huge profits that were made due to the Darbar Move practice, the situation would have been better. But considering the battered economy, the deteriorating growth and lack of any development, this decision couldn’t have come at a worse time, he said.
All industries will be affected, they added. Transporters, retailers, hoteliers, restaurants, malls, and all sections of the accommodation industry will have to grapple with a severe reduction in business in the coming months. Already there is a serious dearth of employment for the youth and people of Jammu and Kashmir. Presently, unemployment has touched record highs, prices are skyrocketing, and people are being forced to spend their savings for years to survive. So, at this time, allowing the darbar move would actually have augmented growth and helped businesses and workers to step out of their financial problems and gain some stability. Because in reality, the seasonal migration owing to the Darbar Move helps labourers, daily wagers, and all stakeholders in the tourism and trade industry by augmenting employment opportunities. Moreover, it was a good way of bridging the social and cultural divide between Jammu and Srinagar. So, all in all, the economic and social benefits of the Darbar Move practise far outweigh the expenses that are incurred in logistics. ‘Which is why we strongly feel that the government should review this decision considering these factors: the delegation expressed.
Sawhney, further speaking on the matter, said that the reasons offered by the UT government are completely irrational. The transition of all records and data to an online database already cuts the costs that were needed for transferring the files. So if the government, says that digitisation of all records is complete now, then there is no need to end the practice of Darbar Move based on this factor. Secondly, the UT government cited that a lot of expenditure is made on security arrangements, but the truth is that it is not because of the Darbar move but the highly volatile situation in the region and this expenditure will have to be made with or without the Darbar move. So there are no practical benefits of discontinuing this practice and depriving our businessmen and hardworking people of their livelihoods and earnings. Ending the Darbar Move will only deepen the economic crisis and usher in more economic hardships for the citizens of Jammu city.
