It took all of four months. Puttamraju Kandriga has gone from being a slummy village to a modern miracle after it was adopted by cricketer-turned-MP Sachin Tendulkar. Concrete roads with tiled pavements, an underground sewage network with a treatment plant, storm-water drains, 24-hour water and power supply, a playground, a community hall…this Andhra Pradesh hamlet about 150 km north of Chennai, with infrastructure that many an Indian city may be proud about, is quite unlike any other in the region or probably even the State.
Says the Master Blaster: “We plan to do much more.”
It was last November that Sachin stepped in to adopt the village under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana, flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a month earlier. Unlike other similar high-profile village adoptions where work is yet to begin on the ground, a lot has already been accomplished in this village thanks to quick decisions and constant supervision. Puttamraju Kandriga is a sleepy little village with just 399 people living in 110 houses. Predominantly made up of Backward Class/ST below-poverty-line families, the people make a living from growing red chillies and lime.
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“We had no roads, no toilets in our homes nor did we have running water and uninterrupted power supply till Sachin adopted our village. Today, we have all of those along with excellent roads,” says Bhaskar Rao, a chilli farmer-resident, with a mix of happiness and pride.
The model village is a joint effort of the local administration and Sachin who has contributed ₹2.79 crore from the MP Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds, while the Government has sanctioned ₹3 crore. “I’m proud that we have been able to provide basic necessities of life such as running water on tap at home and toilets,” Sachin told BusinessLine over phone from Mumbai.
Asked why he chose this village and not one in his home State, Sachin replied: “Puttamraju Kandriga is also in India. I’ve received support from all over India. Wherever I went I was showered with love and affection which means a lot to me.”
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