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The dry and dusty village of Puttamraju Kandriga, near Gudur in Andhra Pradesh, shot to fame two years ago when cricketer-turned-MP Sachin Tendulkar adopted it under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.
Grand plans to develop the village’s infrastructure were being laid when BusinessLine visited the place then.
We went back to the village last week and could barely recognise the place. Puttamraju Kandriga is now a model village with facilities that will be the envy of any city.
Even interior lanes have been laid with cement concrete while every house has been connected to the drinking water pipeline network and sewage grid. The village is not just open defecation-free but also alcohol-addiction free.
The pride of the villagers though are the computer centre and micro ATM housed in the impressive community centre built at a cost of ₹1.15 crore. The centre can host about 300 people for weddings and other functions.
The computer centre, with four laptops and an internet connection, is sponsored by Oxigen as is the micro ATM, which is nothing more than a PoS machine attached to a fingerprint reader.
With the nearest bank 10 km away, villagers can save money and time by using the micro ATM to deposit or withdraw money using their Aadhaar numbers.
“All families in the village have Jan Dhan accounts and Aadhaar cards,” says Nageswara Rao, sarpanch.
According to Madhu Babu, Territory Manager of Oxigen, villagers are gradually taking to the micro ATM.
Youngsters use the computer centre to learn basic MS-Office. Penchalaiah, 21, studying B.Com in a college 8 km away, says: “I spend an hour here daily to learn typing, MS-Office and access the Net for my studies. It will help me get a job in the city.” A vocational training centre provides training in tailoring and there are plans to include pickle-making in this village which predominantly grows lemon and chillies.
D Chennasubbaiah, a 65-year old farmer who grows paddy on an one acre plot, is immensely proud of the development in his village and beams at the mention of Sachin’s name. More livelihood options will be welcome, he says, but is quick to add: “There is no limit to wants and aspirations. We’re grateful to Sachin for helping us.”
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