New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to move into 7 Race Course Road, his official residence, during the first week of June. He is likely to stay at Bungalow No. 5, which is now a guest house, but had been used by Atal Behari Vajpayee as his residence. He is unlikely to occupy Bungalow No. 3, where Manmohan Singh and his family had stayed.
Interestingly, a special tunnel is now in the process of being laid linking the 7 RCR complex to the Safdarjung airport three-km away, where VVIP helicopters can land. Mr Modi will, thus, be the first Indian Prime Minister to use the tunnel.
It will run under Kamal Ataturk Marg, the Golf Course and Safdarjung Tomb, and end near the helicopter hanger at Safdarjung airport. Sources said that the Central Public Works Department had begun construction of the tunnel way back in 2010.
Meanwhile, CPWD reportedly hired the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for the project. Construction work is being closely supervised by the Intelligence Bureau.
The 7 RCR complex has a cluster of spacious bungalows. While the PM’s home cum office is at 7 RCR, 3 RCR was used by Manmohan Singh as his residence and 5 RCR is now a guest house. 4 RCR is used by the Special Protection Group, that guards the PM and his family, as well as former PMs and their immediate families.
“We hear the new Prime Minister is likely to move into Bungalow No. 5. No particular reason has been mentioned. Maybe this is because Bungalow No. 3 has been recently vacated and it had been kept ready for the new PM,” an urban development ministry official said.
Sources said since the rooms had been freshly painted, it might take a few more days for the PM to shift to his new address. “The walls have been freshly painted and the rooms have been recently repaired. The air pollutants and the smell of the paint will take a few days to go. We want to welcome the new PM with the fragrance of fresh air,” a ministry official said.
The CPWD, which has been readying the bungalows for the new PM, has already completed repairs. “All the interiors are completed. Sofa sets and other furniture has also been changed. We have also changed the TV screens in the guest bungalows,” a CPWD official said.
