The municipal body promises to conduct an inquiry after the Watchdog Foundation wrote to them asking for public access to a road next to Shah Rukh Khan's bungalow, Mannat

The Watchdog Foundation has sent a fresh complaint to municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte regarding no public access to a road next to Shah Rukh Khan's bungalow, Mannat. The road next to King Khan's bungalow is a shorter route to Mount Mary Church, but it has been closed since the last three years.

It may be pointed out that SRK's bungalow is located near to the Mount Mary Church where thousands of pilgrims flock during the annual Bandra fair. The road located between SRK's home and the church has apparently been blocked for SRK's safety and this is said to have caused a nuisance to pilgrims. Last year after some agitation, the road was opened on the third day of the annual Bandra fair, but soon after, it was closed again.

Nicholas Almeida, trustee of the Watchdog Foundation says, `We have recently written to the CM and the BMC commissioner. The commissioner has asked for a fresh inquiry and a report will be submitted to him. With the road being closed, a lot of people face problems as it is a short cut. Also, it is illegal to just stop people from taking that route. The road was opened to the public last year and at that time, we were assured that it will be open permanently. But yet again, it has been closed.'

He adds that SRK's security has been stopping people from taking that road. `Security guards deployed at Mannat don't allow people to take the short cut to the church. His vanity van is also parked on the ramp,` he says.


When contacted, Prashant Satpale, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, BMC Zone 3, confirmed that the commissioner has asked him to conduct an inquiry to look into the matter. `I have been asked to do an inquiry and send him the report,` he said.

Meanwhile, a source close to the actor says, `SRK's vanity van is parked on a property which belongs to Mannat and it is never parked on the road. The actor has nothing to do with it. In fact, the ramp was created earlier on, even before SRK purchased the bungalow.` Another source says, `It was the decision of the cops to close the road next to Mannat, as the road is quite narrow and they wished to avoid calamities during the Bandra Fair.`