BCCI joins coronavirus fight, donates Rs 51 crore to PM Modi's CARES fund
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced to donate Rs 51 crore to Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund to contribute towards strengthening the nation’s disaster management capacities and encourage research to combat coronavirus and protect Indian citizens.
The outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is first and foremost a public health emergency and the BCCI has a firm resolve that the nation gets all possible help to cope with the testing times.
The country is under 21-day lockdown to contain the spread of the deadly virus that has claimed nearly 25,000 lives globally.
In India, 19 people have lost their lives while close to 1000 have been infected.
"Sourav Ganguly, President, Mr Jay Shah, Honorary Secretary and Office Bearers of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) along with the affiliated state associations on Saturday announced to donate INR 51 crores to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund) to contribute towards strengthening the nation's disaster management capacities and encourage research to combat COVID-19 and protect Indian citizens," the BCCI release stated.
The BCCI will contribute to Hon’ble Prime Minister’s initiative which is a dedicated national fund (PM-CARES Fund) with the primary objective of dealing with emergency or distress situations.
With Pondicherry and Hyderabad already offering their stadiums for creating isolation wards, the BCCI has assured its support to the state machinery.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly in an interview to PTI had said that if West Bengal government wants, they could provide Eden Gardens facility.
Earlier, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has donated Rs 1 crore as the country fights against the coronavirus outbreak. Sports personalities across all disciplines have come forward and donated as India looks to win a battle against the pandemic that has seen countries across the globe come to a standstill.
