Punjab CM’s new abode: Teams zero in on two houses in Jalandhar

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, June 22

Ahead of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s likely visit to Jalandhar in a day or so, his teams have been going through an exhaustive exercise of finalising a house for his stay here.

Bajwa, Channi to also camp in city

• Congress Legislative Party leader Partap Bajwa said he would also be camping in Basti Bawa Khel locality at his relative’s place in Jalandhar West from Sunday
• Former Chief Minister and Jalandhar MP-elect Charanjit Channi, too, has hired a house and has already started campaigning for party candidate Surinder Kaur

It is learnt that the teams have zeroed in on two houses in Jalandhar — one is a plush house at Partarppura on the 66-feet road and another is a 125 marla house owned by a city-based doctor at Royal Estate, just along the Old Phagwara Road near Jalandhar Cantonment. There are reports that the CM would be taking both the houses — one for himself and his family, and the other for his staff led by his OSD Rajbir Singh.

The road to the second house has been recarpeted just days back. Even as location of both the houses is such that it is easy for him or his staff to quickly reach a highway to leave for Chandigarh or even quickly move towards Ludhiana or Amritsar without getting into the mad rush of the city.

The Royal Estate colony is gated. The road in front of the house is wide and there are vacant plots on its front and even by the side, which can be used as an ample space for parking facility. There are two floors of constructed portion of the house in the centre and two huge lawns on either side of the entrance along the pathway which can be used for any kind of a gathering.

The development follows a re-confirmation by the CM of stay putting in Jalandhar as conveyed by him in his speech in a public rally in Hoshiarpur on Saturday on the occasion of Kabir Jayanti. He reiterated that he would be stay putting in Jalandhar, not just till July 10, the byelection date for Jalandhar (West) Assembly segment but for the next three years of his tenure.

The CM has publicly announced that he would be taking a house on rent in Jalandhar, just the way he had done in Sangrur. “It is not difficult to take a house on rent. I shall be stay putting in this house for two to three days a week and it shall work as my camp office for Doaba and Majha regions for getting routine works done,” the CM said adding that he would be strategising and executing the campaign of the party and also providing redressal to public grievances from this rented house.