Srinagar Diary – Jammu Kashmir

The cold wave conditions in Srinagar have intensified after the Valley received season’s first major snowfall on Thursday.
The cold wave conditions in Srinagar have intensified after the Valley received season’s first major snowfall on Thursday. Due to the cold wave conditions, the minimum temperature in the night has also dropped considerably. In view of the prevailing conditions, people have switched to heavy woolens to keep themselves warm. The demand for woolens has gone up by leaps and bounds. Even the traditional Kangris (the firepot) are being used by the people to keep themselves warm as electricity continues to play hide and seek.

Jammu would be the capital of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the six winter months, as the seat of governance has started shifting from Srinagar. The administration would function from Jammu till late May. With the arrival of Spring, around the first week of May, the administrative affairs would be run from Srinagar again. The practice of Durbar Move was started by Dogra ruler Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1872 to escape the extreme weather conditions of Kashmir in winter and Jammu in summer. However, the move has turned out to be burden on the exchequer. Officials said about ` 150 crores are being spent annually on the bi-annual shifting of record, machinery and furniture from one city to another.