Women backbone of nation: Sachin

• Lays foundation for several works in Puttamrajuvari Kandriga
• Administers an oath to the villagers to shun tobacco, alcohol
• Says his maiden visit is only the first innings, vows to develop village on all fronts

Nellore: Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar Sunday said women are backbone of all families in India and the nation. Addressing women in Puttamrajuvari Kandriga, a small village of a little over 500 population, which he has adopted under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana. The parliamentarian urged the villagers to ensure cleanliness and inculcate clean habits in their children.

In his brief address to the members of women's Self-Help Groups (SHGs), he said a woman makes sacrifices for her husband, son or daughter and for the entire family. "When the government declared Bharat Ratna to me, I declared in my brief statement that this is for my mother and all mothers of our nation and for all the sacrifices they make," the 41-year-old said.

"We speak about Swachch Bharat. Most of diseases are spread because we don't wash our hands properly. We sometimes feed our children with those unwashed dirty hands.

We also don't teach children how to wash hands and take things for granted that nothing will happen to our children and that is when something goes wrong with family," he said.

Tendulkar, who retired from cricket a year ago, spent three hours in the village. He unveiled a pylon to adopt the village and launched various development works. He laid foundation for the construction of Rs 2.79 crore worth developmental works (in the first phase), including a community centre, Anganwadi school with kitchen, a playground, waiting halls and toilets, among other things.

He also administered oath to villagers to shun tobacco and alcohol. He said it was necessary for the people to get addicted to their families and not fall prey to vices that would only destroy them.

He said his maiden visit was only the first innings and hoped the people to play a pro-active role in making it a model village by the he returns for a second innings. He said that with his proposal to make it a wi-fi village, the locals could connect themselves with the world, which otherwise remained oblivious of people of the village.

The Minister for Municipal Administration, P Narayana said that the village had become a household name in the country. District Collector N Srikant elaborated on the schemes being taken up to ensure all-round development of the village.