The city is one of the 13 municipal corporations in the state and also the headquarters of Anantapur mandal.[4] It lies on NH-7. It was the headquarters of the "Datta Mandalam" (Rayalaseema districts of Andhra Pradesh and Bellary district of Karnataka) in 1799 and Sir Thomas Munro was the first collector for ceded districts. It was also a position of strategic importance for the British Indian Arm
y during the Second World War. Tourist Places---
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Lepakshi Temple is renowned for its repository of mural paintings of the Vijayanagar Kings. Lepakshi consists of three shrines dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and "Virabhadra". The world 's largest Nandi stone sculpture (Lord Shiva's bull). Puttaparthi, Prasanthi Nilayam is the home of Sri Satya Sai Baba. Thimmamarri manu is a large Banyan tree spread over 8 acres (32,000 m2) of land near Kadiri. This tree was recorded as the biggest tree in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1989.[citation needed] Kadiri Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple famous for the idol sweating[11] Chintala Venkateswara Swamy Temple and Bugga Rama Lingheswara Swamy Temple, Shiva Temple in Tadipatri are known for their architecture. Education--
Anantapur is an important education centre with educational, schools, colleges and universities namely Sri Krishnadevaraya University, JNTU Anantapur, Sri Sathya Sai University, Government Medical College etc.. are reputed engineering colleges in Anantapur district. Sports and entertainment--
Anantapur has many sports facilities and has played host to Irani Cup in 1963–64 when Rest of India scored their lowest total of 83 against the then Ranji trophy winners Bombay, played at the Sanjeeva Reddy stadium. Several Ranji trophy matches and other regional tournaments for basketball, badminton, etc. have been hosted in Anantapur. The Anantapur Sports Village (ASV), located alongside the National Highway 7. The Ananthapur Cricket Ground sits within a 40-acre (160,000 m2) complex which is managed by the Rural Development Trust (RDT).[12] In October 2010, Rafael Nadal opened the Rafael Nadal Tennis School in ASV, which hosts district, state and national-level tournaments, as well as laying equal emphasis on the children’s education and tennis training. Transportation---
Ananthapur City is very well connected to most major cities in India by the National Highways NH7 and NH 205. Ananthapur also has direct train connection to Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Dharmavaram,Hindupuram Adoni, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Pune, Vishakapatnam, etc. Puttaparthi which is 80 km south of Ananthapur is the nearest airport with scheduled air services while Bangalore, 168 km away (Devana Halli) has an international airport and is well connected to rest of India. Notable personalities---
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Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, former President of India and the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Paidi Lakshmayya, first parliament member from Anantapur constituency, film actor, writer and lawyer. Kadiri Venkata Reddy or K.V. Reddy, great Indian film director, writer, producer
Sathya Sai Baba, Hindu spiritual leader
Bellary Raghava, was an Indian playwright, thespian and film actor, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema
Kallur S***a Rao, Indian freedom activist and politician. He was also the first speaker of Andhra Assembly. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, family hails from Anantapur
