Drought-hit Maharashtra village fails to use 1 crore donated by Sachin Tendulkar

In a shocking development, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar’s relief fund was not utilized by a drought-hit village in Maharashtra. Deccan Chronicle reported the people of Wakala refusing to properly make use of the 1 crore grant due to lack of harmony among them.

Upon the request of the concerned officials to arrange a meeting between the villagers to decide the allocation process, they could not agree with themselves and had a major argument.

Wakala is located in the Aurangabad district which is quite close to the Marathwada region. Maharashtra which is Tendulkar’s home state is currently enduring a major drought situation leaving numerous farmers in dire straits.

At a time like this, Sachin’s funds could have been useful in alleviating the lack of water in the area. However, the village is marred by vicious in-fighting between the various groups on religion, caste, creed and political affiliation.

Majority of the villagers are connected to one political party or another which has worsened the issue considerably. But, Gram Panchayat member Hattesingh Chaudhari vehemently rejected the accusations.

The local administrator claimed that the people are working towards finding a resolution and there are no troubles regarding differences of opinions. He even went on to dismiss the political angle to the problem and asserted that the parties have buried the hatchet.

It is worth noting that the Bombay High Court had moved all IPL matches out of Maharashtra citing a shortage of water in several regions of the state. After an arduous legal wrangle, the schedule was rearranged by the BCCI.

Ever since his retirement from the sport in 2013, the 43-year old has been trying to contribute to the society by adopting under-developed villages. He had earlier opted to adopt Puttamraju Kandrika, a desolate village near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh.

Following the maestro’s intervention, the place turned into a well-equipped one with numerous facilities provided to the people. One of the richest sports persons of all-time, Sachin’s work was praised by everyone in the area.

A local resident had affirmed, “We had no roads, no toilets in our homes nor did we have running water and uninterrupted power supply till Sachin adopted our village. Today, we have all of those along with excellent roads.”

Hopefully, the residents of Wakala too finally come together and use the grant in a meaningful manner which will ultimately improve a part of the country.