Nellore: Cricket icon and Rajya Sabha member Sachin Tendulkar on Wednesday visited his adopted village of Puttamrajuvari Kandriga, and was visibly satisfied with the complete transformation of the village compared to what he saw two years ago. He was also delighted that the village has been declared ‘open defecation free’. “The icing on the cake is that the village has been declared ODF,” he said.
Tendulkar received a rousing welcome. Youngsters sported T-shirts with his picture on them and the slogan ‘We trust Sachin’. They cheered when he greeted them in Telugu.
The cricketing legend inaugurated a spacious community development centre built at an estimated cost of Rs 11.52 lakh.
He allotted Rs 90,000 from his MPLADs fund of Rs 1.80 cr for the development of neighbouring Nernuru and Gollapalli villages in the second phase.
Underlining the need for cooperation among the residents and praising them for their discipline, he said he was moved by their love and affection and promised to pay one more visit if they work together.
He stressed that it should be a happy and healthy village with social behavioural changes among the inhabitants. The cricket icon accepted an invitation from MLC Vakati Narayana Reddy and Gudur legislator Pasam Suneel Kumar to be present at the opening of a cricket stadium being built on six acres of land at Gudur in his name, but asked them to include other sports as well in the facility.
