Vajpayee gets a new bungalow, labourers search for a new job

Barely a few minutes before the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, walked into his new home, 6A Krishna Menon Marg, at 7-30 this evening, more than 50 labourers vacated the spacious bungalow from its side entry after refurbishing it to the like and taste of its new occupant.

Predictably enough, many of these illiterate labourers wished that Mr. Vajpayee would meet them and give his feedback about the new house. “For us, this house is nothing less than heaven. It is a beautiful and wonderful place and has all the facilities of the world,” said Pardesani, a lady labourer in her early 40s.

Pardesani and her dozen odd colleagues, hailing from Chhattisgarh, who were seen coming out of the bungalow with sacks on their head, said they worked on the entire complex from bed room to kitchen, toilets, servant quarters, garden and boundary wall. Incidentally majority of the labourers were from Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, while the contractor is said to be from Rajasthan.

“We did not get an opportunity to meet Mr. Vajpayee but the house has been designed as per his desire and taste as communicated to us by the contractor. I feel fortunate to have received an opportunity to renovate the house of the former Prime Minister. It is like a dream house for us with such beautiful tiles, several air-conditioners and huge beds,” said Dwarika, another lady labourer, with sparkle in her eyes.

Though NDMC and CPWD officials refused to divulge details of the expenditure incurred on the renovation of the house, it is believed that all this has must have cost several lakhs. Another labourer Basanti revealed that Mr. Vajpayee visited 6A Krishna Menon Marg some 15 days ago to have a look at the bungalow. “However, we were asked to vacate the premises when he came to inspect it,” she rued.

The labourers, however, were happy that Mr. Vajpayee’s family members distributed lots of ladoos and samosas to all of them on July 1 appreciating the hard put in by them day-in and day-out for more than 45 days. “Every day, we used to leave only after 10 in the night. The work was carried out at a very fast pace,” said Dayanand, a mason, who claimed to have refurbished Mr. Vajpayee’s bedroom. He was also involved in the renovation of the Safdarjung Road residence of the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.

Another mason, Mohammad Irfan from Araria in Bihar, doing some masonry work at one side of the bungalow even after Mr. Vajpayee entered his new home said he worked on all the five toilets of 6-A Krishna Menon Marg.

Though happy that they have been involved in the construction of a house for a national leader, these labourers were today much depressed. “There is a genuine reason to be sad. From tomorrow, we have to search for a new job to feed our children; otherwise we have to go without food. But this has been our destiny since birth. We live from day to day,” said Pardesani and Dwarika in one voice.