Srinagar locals pin hope in village council as secretariat moves to Jammu

Srinagar, Nov. 27 (ANI): Locals here are pinning their hopes in a village council to get their grievances redressed after the state assembly shifted secretariat to Jammu.

Gulam Ahmad, a village head, said that the village council had assured the locals to attend to their needs and readdress their grievances related to departments and ministries.

"You can say that there is a complete cut off between the secretariat and people during these six months. Though ministers make frequent visits to meet villagers during that time span but nobody stays for long to resolve our problems," said Ahmad.

"But after the village council elections this year, a village head has been appointed in every village, so anybody can access them easily with their problems and village head can taken up those matters with the concerned officials," he added.

Meanwhile, Habib-Ullah, a local, said people faced difficulties in reaching the Secretariat during the winter season, as heavy snowfall, brought life to a virtual halt.

"Major problems are witnessed during winter season, therefore, special attention needs be given towards the problems, so that people do not face any difficulties. The key problems faced during the winter season are scarcity of electricity, gas, ration and snow clearance from the roads," he said.

The state government of Jammu and Kashmir shifted to Jammu on November 7, under the conventional 'Darbar Move'.

In case of a heavy snowfall, movement by road almost comes to a standstill and it becomes impossible to reach Jammu on time.

The practice of 'Darbar Move' was the brainchild of the founder and the Dogra ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja Gulab Singh, in the year 1872 to escape from the extreme weather conditions during winter season and since then it has continued. (ANI)