Maharashtra villagers fight over Tendulkar's drought-relief fund

Infighting between local political groups has resulted in a drought-hit Maharashtra village failing to make use of the Rs.1 crore allocated to it by cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar’s relief fund.

The residents of Wakala village in Aurangabad district have been hit particularly hard by a lack of unity over allocation of said funding, according to reports in Deccan Chronicle.

A recent meeting between the villagers to decide allocation ended without resolution, even as the region continues to be caught in a severe drought that has left thousands of farmers in dire straits.

However, a local administrator, speaking to the same paper, claimed the village is working towards a common goal, and that there were no differences of opinion.

The 43-year old Tendulkar, who retired from cricket in 2013, had earlier 'adopted' Puttamraju Kandrika, a small hamlet near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, following which the place witnessed a remarkable developmental transformation.