SP honchos' address is city's new VIP zone

LUCKNOW: Black cat commandos and police personnel cordon an approximately 500-metre-long stretch of a service lane inside pocket C of Ansals Golf City on Shaheed Path as movement of commoners gets restricted in the area. The bylane leads to a bungalow which stands out with a series of high-end SUVs, including a black Mercedes, a grey Isuzu and a jammer van lined up outside.

Welcome to bungalow number C/3/12/A which is under strong vigil of a group of security men who keep a hawk-eye vigil on every passer-by. It's the new address of Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has moved into this 5000 sq feet swanky residence after vacating his government accommodation in posh Vikramaditya Marg following a Supreme Court order that annulled the state law allowing allotment of government house to former CMs.

"Netaji (Mulayam) andar hi hain...abhi kisi se nahi milenge (Netaji is in the bungalow but won't meet any visitor) ," says a security staff, as he walked briskly towards a security room constructed outside the bungalow.

Not far away, another security room is being readied close to another bungalow - Bungalow number C/2/0190. This is the house where former UP CM and SP president, Akhilesh Yadav, who after vacating his 4-Vikramaditya Marg residence following the apex court order a week ago, will be staying soon. The bungalow, still in its finishing stages, is almost double the size of Mulayam's residence. Akhilesh's staff confirmed that two bungalows, each of 5000 sq feet, have been merged to pave way for a bigger residence. As a group of labourers worked on a trench along a pavement nearby, a couple of SUVs fitted with SP flags pull up. After stopping briefly outside Akhilesh's bungalow, the vehicles head quickly towards Mulayam's house. "Netaji ka aashirwad lene aaye hain (We've come to seek Netaji's blessings) ," says an SP worker as he alights from one of the SUVs and enters Mulayam's bungalow.