MP Sachin scores big with Andhra village
PUTTAM RAJUVARI KANDRIGA (NELLORE): The roads are cemented and wide. Pavements are tiled. Underground drains backed by a treatment plant keep the stink away. Water and electricity are available 24x7. And, it is not a smart city in the making.
Puttam Rajuvari Kandriga is a small village of 150 households in Andhra Pradesh’s coastal district of Nellore.
The transformation of PR Kandriga from a dusty hamlet to a swanky modern village is writ large next to the front doors of its 150 homes: an image of cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar with the house number.
Tendulkar, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha, adopted the hamlet under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (Sagy) in October 2014. Over the next few months, PR Kandriga got facilities that even cities struggle to have.
“We never dreamt of these facilities before the young MP visited this village on November 16, 2014. It has given a modern look to our village,” village sarpanch Bujji Nageshwara Rao told HT.
A plan launched by the Prime Minister in October 2014, Sagy requires MPs to develop three rural areas into model villages by 2019.
PR Kandriga is well on its way to being one.
Wide concrete roads with tiled pavements lead to the village, where electric poles line the streets. Unlike neighbouring villages, drains don’t overflow -- the drainage system is underground. Water is safe for drinking and taps don’t run dry here, a common problem in the area.
Tendulkar has given a grant of around ₹4 crore and Nellore administration matched his first contribution with ₹2.90 crore aid.