Puttaparthi gears up for 100th birth anniversary of Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Special Chief Secretary (tourism and culture) Ajay Jain has asked the district administration to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of Sri Sathya Sai Baba in a grand manner and complete all the works by August 15.

Mr. Jain held a review of the arrangements with District Collector T.S. Chetan, Superintendent of Police V. Ratna, Puttaparthi MLA Palle Sindhura Reddy and other officials at the Collectorate on Tuesday.

Mr. Jain said that they are anticipating a minimum of 10,000 devotee turnout on normal days and nearly 60,000 to 70,000 turnout on important days of the celebrations. He said that devotees are likely to visit Puttaparthi from Hyderabad, Bengaluru and other cities apart from foreign countries and asked the officials to make arrangements for their accommodation and transport accordingly.

He wanted officials to ensure basic facilities like drinking water, sanitation, mobile toilets, street lighting and others, and also set up food counters and first aid centres. He asked them to maintain cleanliness and make efficient arrangements for clearing garbage, disposal of waste and drainage system.

He asked officials to repair roads leading from Bengaluru to Puttaparthi and also to take up works on Penugonda - Kothacheruvu and Brahmanapalle–Enumulapalle road on war-footing.

Collector Ketan said that an action plan is being prepared for safety of devotees and the celebrations will be conducted successfully with the coordination of all the departments.

SP Ratna said that all security measures are being taken up and CCTVs, body cameras and dog squads would be used for safety of the devotees. MLA Sindhura Reddy said that a detailed project report with ₹105 crore for beautification of Puttaparthi and other development works has been sent to the State government for approval and sanction.