To his die-hard cricket fans, Sachin Tendulkar is ‘God’, something a tribal village in West Bengal swears by after the Rajya Sabha MP intervened to fund the reconstruction of a 51-year-old neglected school. Moved by a headmaster’s request, Tendulkar agreed to release Rs 76,21,050 for the “Gobindapur Makrampur Swarnamoyee Sasmal Siksha Niketan” from his MPLAD fund. The school is located on NH-6 under Narayangadh police station about 140 kilometres southwest of Kolkata in the Midnapore (West) district. Tendulkar has already released 75 per cent of the amount, which was paid in three installments, while the remaining amount would be given on production of the utilisation certificate, which was recently submitted.

“The greatest thing for me is his humility. This nondescript village is unheard of for him and many others but he was convinced and came forward seeing just my letter and the supportive documents,” he said.

Construction is in full swing and the building has a plaque which duly acknowledges the contribution of “Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, honorable MP Rajya Sabha. FY 2015-16.”

“After the school is complete, I will personally go to Mumbai to invite him for the inauguration — it’s like another dream, but everyone here are desperate to see the ‘God-like icon’,” Mohanty signed off.