* Sathya (truth) Dharma (righteousness) Santhi (peace) Prema

132
The stadium on a 4.8-acre site has the 
largest open frame space dome in the 
country.  It has been built to Olympic 
specifications and can host international 
tournaments. Baba has always 
championed the quest for excellence. 
Here, he has created a facility that will 
prepare sports persons from all over the 
country to strive for gold at global levels. 
Like all his projects this one too is for the 
benefit of the country and comes at no 
charges.
The stadium has all amenities such as 
state-of-the-art training facilities and 
equipment. The scoring and TV systems 
are the best in the world. From flooring 
to seating, every bit that makes this a 
world-class facility has been brought 
from different, parts of the world. It also 
has a well-equipped gym and tennis 
complex, accommodation facilities and 
stands to seat 4,000 spectators. 
As part of the inauguration, a volleyball 
match between India and Sri Lanka, a 
basketball match between India and 
Indonesia, and gymnastics display by 
some members of the Athens Olympics 
gold winning Greece team was also 
held. The highlight of the events was 
a basketball display by the Harlem 
Globetrotters whoJMye, who came down 
to be part of the opening ceremony.
The Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, the 
apex body that has commissioned the 
facility, brings down coaches from all 
over the world for train youngsters and 
to win Olympic medals for India.  
This state-of-the-art, Olympic-standard 
indoor stadium was inaugurated by 
President Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam at 
Puttaparthi.

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Inside view of the octogonal shaped display centre 
with shell roof and compression ring.

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134
I recall two instances of L&T’s dedication 
in executing and completing works on time  
schedule, which any one would consider near 
impossible - International Sports stadium at 
Puttaparthi and the Water Supply Project in 
East and West Godavari Districts of Andhra 
Pradesh. I have, of course, heard about many 
other projects like the Super Specialty Hospital 
at Prasanthi Gram, Chennai Water Supply 
Project, etc. which are far more spectacular. 
The one supervening observation in regard 
to all the projects is that they are all Swami’s 
projects, and it is His will which governs every 
one of them. 
Mr. S.V. Giri, Former Vice Chancellor, Sri 
Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning
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Different views of the  
state-of-the-art indoor 
stadium built to Olympic 
standards.

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136
B-School for Women at Anantapur...
An elite school of business management
Architectural and Design Parameter
This building has been designed and built:
•  To place the structure closer to the main highway with a
wide frontage.
•  As a ground plus two storied structure with two wings
having a grand entrance with a reception hall in the center 
of the building
•  As a modular structure with modern grid system
•  To provide easy connectivity to all levels through broad
staircases at vantage points
•  To provide a comprehensive and efficiently loaded single
corridor for heavy movement
•  With the natural flooring materials to take care of the wear
and tear and easy maintenance
•  With large windows and wide doors for good ventilation
and easy circulation
Larsen & Toubro recently completed the construction of the 
Business School for Women at Anantapur Sri Sathya Sai 
University Campus with complete infrastructure facilities 
designed for an in-take of 120 students per year.  
Consisting of ground plus two levels, the school is provided 
with complete amenities like the library, display / class rooms, 
administration area, computer lab including a spacious 
dining hall in the ground floor.  The first and second floors are 
designed as typical twin room hostel facility with attached 
bathrooms to accommodate students.  In addition, there is 
a central television and recreation hall for entertainment and 
leisure.
The turnkey construction of the project was undertaken by 
L&T while FBA Architects, Chennai, the principal consultants, 
conceptualized this project as per the guidelines of  
Dr. A. Ramakrishna, Former President and Deputy Managing 
Director of L&T. While conceptualizing the school building, the 
following architectural and design parameters were taken into 
consideration.
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Areas
Ground Floor
First Floor
Second Floor
Total
Sq.m
1105
975
975
3087 sq.m
Sq.ft
11894
10495
10495
33229 sq.ft
Panoramic view of the ‘B’ school for women.  
This 33,000 sq.ft building is designed for an 
intake of 120 students per year.
Built Form
This building is aesthetically planned and designed with 
decorative columns and domes in a balanced manner 
with the central dome bigger in size than the rest of the 
domes.  Moreover, conventional Sthapathi works have been 
introduced in the parapet area and windows to give an 
ancient heritage institutional look for the building.
Structural System
The modular grid system has been introduced in a way 
that the ground floor level provides class rooms and other 
academic facilities.  First and second floors have been 
constructed with same grid system to accommodate hostel 
rooms with attached bath facilities.  
Articulation
This building has been designed and built in the conventional 
way infused with heritage characteristics  including various 
decorative elements, features, dome facade and the like.  The 
dome architecture gives the building its magnanimous look 
apart from the typical institutional characteristics.
I am associated with the proposed Advanced 
Multi-Disciplinary Research Centre 
and Departments of Management and 
Mathematics and Computer Science.
Building Plans for this project are getting 
ready for the approval of Bhagawan and 
the work is yet to commence.  However, am 
interacting with L&T engineers and architects 
and find that they have the acumen to quickly 
grasp all ideas required for proper usage and 
functionality with a flair for aesthetic appeal. 
And the quick delivery of the draft plans. 
I was actively involved with L&T in the Construction 
of the new Humanities  Building at the Prasanthi 
Nilayam campus during  2005 and 2006 and later 
construction of a new building for the Management 
Programme for girls at the Anantapur campus of the 
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning.
 
In all the above projects, I observed that three things 
went together at every stage and for every task. 
These are (a) quality of the final product, (b)  strict 
adherence to requirements and Instructions and (c)  
timely completion of the total task. 
Whenever I see the Baha’i Temple in Delhi, I think of 
L&T with admiration.
Prof. J. Shashidhara Prasad,  Vice-Chancellor, 
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning
Prof. Vishwanath  Pandit,  Former Vice-Chancellor, 
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Vidyagiri, 
Prasanthi Nilayam  

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