It was yet another memorable day for the residents of Puttamraju Kandrika when they spent two hours with the ace cricketer and MP Sachin Tendulkar who visited his adopted village here on Wednesday, the second visit since he adopted it in 2014. Mr. Tendulkar kept greeting the residents for the good change brought about by them in a collective way and he called a few of them by their names as a token of his appreciation.
The cricketer recalled how in his previous visit he urged for their active participation in the developmental activities taken up to transform it as an ideal village under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).
Speaking to the villagers, the cricketer-turned-MP made it sure to walk into the house of Mahesh. The resident narrated to him how all the villagers had been inspired to live clean and healthy lives ever since his last visit. Mr. Tendulkar told the residents that he was very much delighted over the manner in which there was visible transformation not only in the facilities of the village but also the way the people had shown a significant behavioural change in a good way.
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A resident told him they lived by their pledge and stopped taking liquor and consuming tobacco as per his appeal in his first visit.
On seeing the cricket legend, schoolchildren burst into excitement and applause.
He posed for photographs with them and also distributed cricket and sports kits to a select few.
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The cricketer did not miss the occasion to tell the youth that they should strike a balance between sports and studies, saying they should not miss out in both the aspects.
Mr. Tendulkar inaugurated a Rs. 1.15-cr community hall constructed for the utility of the residents of the local villages and hamlets.
He also handed over the appointment certificates to the village youth who got selected in the recent job mela organised at Puttamraju kandriga a few weeks ago.
Nearly 100 youths of Puttamraju Kandriga, Nernuru and Gollapalli villages were selected and given appointments in the recent job mela.
District Collector R. Mutyala Raju, Joint Collector A.Md. Imtiyaz and several people’s representatives explained to the cricketer about the steps taken for development.
In all, developmental works like community hall, playground, roads, underground drains, drinking water taps and pavements were undertaken at a cost of Rs. 6 crore.
Mr. Tendulkar gave sanctioning letter to the officials for another Rs. 90 lakh to lay CC roads and underground drains in the villages under the second phase expansion works.
The cricket legend promised to revisit the village again at a later time and asked the villagers to continue the good work.