8000 VOLUNTEERS ARRIVE IN CITY
FOR SATHYA SAI BABA'S VISIT

Times of India
Thursday 11 March 1999
By A Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Around 8,000 volunteers have arrived in Delhi to help in the arrangement of functions to mark the visit of Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi to the Capital.
The volunteers of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Samiti have taken over the premises of the Rai School, which also includes the Institute For Integrated Learning In Management, at Lodhi Institutional Area, among other places.
The area was a beehive of activity on Wednesday evening, with scores of badge-donning volunteers making last-minute arrangements. ``They are here to perform seva. It might be in the form of security, sanitation or canteen work,'' said a senior Seva Samiti volunteer.
The closure of the school and the management institute have led to complaints from several students. ``We were told the institute will remain closed from March 6 to March 14,'' said a worried student of the undergraduate programme in business management.
``This comes at a time when our course is not yet complete and the examinations begin in early-April. We are not allowed to enter the institute to use the library or computers...some have to finish their projects,'' he added.
A Seva Samiti volunteer, in turn, said the students should take this opportunity to ``study in peace'' at home. ``Sai Baba coming to Delhi is a major event...the institutes have been closed only for a week,'' he added.
While the men volunteers are staying at the nearby Andhra Association building and the Army camp on Lodhi Road, the women are at the Rai School. Huge tents have also been erected at these places for Sai Baba's darshan and discourses.
``The arrangements are going on smoothly. Around 10,000 to 12,000 devotees can be accommodated at Rai School for the darshan at one time. The capacity of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, where Sai Baba is scheduled to give darshan on Thursday evening, is around 80,000,'' said a volunteer at the control room set up in Rai School.