Manchu Vishnu learns a lesson

Manchu Vishnu recently visited Mumbai, not to discuss films, but for a cause. Tapan Patel, son of late MP Mukesh Patel, is Vishnu’s good friend. “I raised the water scarcity issue, which is a big problem in our two Telugu states. Then Tapan told me to visit Shirpur, which has been adopted by his uncles and is now a model city,” says Vishnu.

Vishnu has adopted 10 villages in Chandragiri mandal of Chittoor district and he finds that drinking water is the main problem there. “Adopting a village does not only mean laying good roads. All these villages have good roads, but I am concentrating on basic amenities like water and education,” says Vishnu.

When the actor visited Shirpur, he was surprised to see the development and the fact that there was no water scarcity. “They have water for the next 25 years. Due to water harvesting, they are getting ground water easily. I visited with a team of professors from my university to study their methods and implement the same in my villages,” says Vishnu.

“It wont cost much. When I enquired, they said it cost around '70 lakh to '80 lakh and I don’t know why people don’t take it seriously,” says the actor.

Vishnu is also concentrating on building toilets in government schools. “Girls drop out from schools because of lack of toilets. I have already built one toilet and I am planning for other schools too,” he says.

His team is in touch with geologist Dr Suresh Khana Purkar, who is the director at the Shirupur model city. “The geologist has to come and identify the place to start our plan. I am also planning to discuss our plans with the AP Chief Minister,” he says.

The actor has also formed a team called “Army Green” comprising students of his Vidyaniketan. They tour the villages and educate people and create awareness about sanitation. “I am planning to make a sewage water plant where the waste water will acc-umulate through pipes,” adds Vishnu.