7 RCR is now history

NEW DELHI: Facts about the PM’s residence and the country’s most secured address — 7 Race Course Road

NEW DELHI: Facts about the PM’s residence and the country’s most secured address — 7 Race Course Road

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Rajiv Gandhi was the first Prime Minister to stay at 7 RCR. After the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at her 1, Safdarjung Road bungalow, in 1984, 7 RCR was chosen as it was considered a more secure location for Rajiv Gandhi. There is only one entrance to 7 RCR, which has been blocked off for the PM’s house and offices for the past three decades. 7 RCR became the Prime Minister’s only official residence during the tenure of Prime Minister VP Singh. 7 RCR has five bungalows, numbered 1,3, 5, 7 and 9, spread across 12 acres on what was till recently known as Race Course Road. No. 1 RCR is a helipad, No. 3 was

the bungalow where Manmohan Singh stayed, and No. 5 was the guest house, which is now the Prime Minister’s residence. No. 7 is now the PM’s home office. The last bungalow, No. 9, is occupied by the Special Protection Group that guard the PM. The official name of the Prime Minister’s complex is called Panchavati. The bungalows of the Prime Minister’s residence at 7 Race Course Road were originally designed by Robert Tor Russell. In the 1980s, after 7 RCR was converted into the PM’s official residence, it was restored and designed by noted interior designer and architectural restorer Sunita Kohli.