Located in citys prime zone,this bungalow has four bedrooms,a huge drawing-cum-dining area,seven quarters for domestic helps,two garages,one storeroom and a spacious guard room. 33,Sham Nath Marg in Civil Lines is no ordinary address. It used to be the official residence of Delhis chief ministers till a decade ago. Then superstition brought about its fall from grace. Politicians and bureaucrats have refused to stay there. The Vaastu of the bungalow is considered faulty, an official said. Many politicians,including two chief ministers,lived in the bungalow only to meet a troubled fate. None of them could complete their full term in office. When Sheila Dikshit became the chief minister for the first time in 1998,the plush bungalow was offered to her. But she turned it down,opting to live in a smaller bungalow on Motilal Nehru Marg. There is no evidence to prove that Dikshits decision was based on the superstition that the bungalow is jinxed. She could have been toeing her predecessor Sahib Singh Vermas line. When the BJP leader became Chief Minister in 1996,he decided not to make 33,Sham Nath Marg his home. Congress leader Deep Chand Bandhu occupied the bungalow after he was made the Industries Minister in the Dikshit government of 1998-2003. He succumbed to illness,while in office. Sources said well-wishers had advised Bandhu not to stay in the house,but he did not pay heed. Until recently,politicians in Delhi had used the bungalows lawn and its rooms for wedding parties and social gatherings. This stopped after the Delhi High Court banned social functions there. Now,Delhis Power Secretary Shakti Sinha has written to Chief Secretary P K Tripathi saying he is interested in moving into the bungalow. PWD Minister R K Chauhan,on his part,had requested Dikshit to allow him to change the omen associated with the house. I have proposed that the bungalow be razed since no one wants to stay there. A state guesthouse can be built there. Since the Power Secretary has put in a request,the Chief Minister will take a decision, Chauhan said. A senior official said the requests were pending with Dikshit. Chauhan said he came up with the guesthouse proposal because nobody wanted to stay in that bungalow. It is a superstition we cant do much about. People who have lived here have suffered. The bungalow has been deemed inauspicious, the minister said.
