New Delhi: In a touching gesture, legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has donated Rs 1 crore to procure oxygen concentrators for Covid-19 patients in the country as it battles a raging second wave of the global pandemic.
India is witnessing an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 infections and registered 379,257 fresh cases and 3,645 fatalities on Thursday.
The health-care system is being overburdened with the acute shortage of oxygen and lifesaving drugs.
“His donation of Rs. 1 crore to ‘Mission Oxygen’ in its endeavor to procure and provide life-saving oxygen concentrators to hospitals across the nation in this time of need is incredibly heart-warming,” read a statement from Mission Oxygen, which is a fund-raising initiative by Delhi-NCR based entrepreneurs for importing supplies like concentrators and donating them to hospitals in need.
The 48-year-old also took to twitter to praise the initiative.
“The second wave of Covid has put our health-care system under immense pressure. Providing oxygen for the large number of serious COVID patients is the need of the hour,” Tendulkar wrote on his twitter handle.
“It is heartening to see how people are rising to the occasion. A group of 250 young entrepreneurs have launched Mission Oxygen to raise funds for importing oxygen concentrators and donating them to hospitals across the country.
I’ve helped by contributing to the cause and hope that their effort soon reaches out to many more hospitals across India. Today, we have to stand together behind everyone that is working hard to fight this pandemic,” he added.
Tendulkar, who had spent some time in hospital himself after testing positive for the dreaded infection last month, has also pledged to donate plasma once he is eligible. (UNI)