Omar starts work from J-K winter capital

Jammu, Nov 11: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah started working from the Civil Secretariat here on Monday, as part of an annual practice of shifting administrative base to the winter capital.

The deputy chief minister, cabinet ministers, chief secretary, administrative secretaries, and heads of departments also resumed their work from Jammu, officials said.

According to a General Administration Department order dated October 23, only the administrative secretaries and the top department heads will shift to Jammu from Srinagar under a curtailed Darbar move.

The Civil Secretariat in Srinagar will also remain functional, as the order stated.

The annual move, a long-standing tradition in Jammu and Kashmir, was halted during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The practice involved shifting the government from Srinagar to Jammu from October to May due to harsh cold conditions in the valley.

Abdullah is the first Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir since its reorganisation as a Union Territory.

He earlier served as a J-K chief minister from 2009 to 2014, when it was still a full-fledged state.