Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Mar 28 : The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly, Secretary Jay Shah and office-bearers along with the affiliated state associations on Saturday announced to donate Rs 51 crores to the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund) to "strengthening the nation's disaster management capacities and encourage research to combat COVID-19".
"The outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-1) 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 BCCI said in a statement.
The Board along with its state associations will continue to monitor and work closely with the Government of India, state governments and other state regulatory bodies and are committed to providing support to the state machinery in the face of adversity.
Earlier, Indian cricketer Suresh Raina pledged to donate Rs 31 lakhs to PM-CARES Fund and Rs 21 to UP CM's Disaster Relief Fund to aid the battle against COVID-19.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi created Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund and appealed all the countrymen to show there support for the cause.
On Friday, former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has donated Rs 25 lakh each to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra's Relief Fund to aid the battle against COVID-19. Various athletes have come forward to help the country in its fight against the coronavirus. Among them is Indian sprinter Hima Das, who on Thursday said that she will donate a month's salary to the Assam government's coronavirus relief fund.
Indian shuttler PV Sindhu, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, and wrestler Bajrang Punia have also contributed their bit for the cause.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), there are 873 confirmed cases of coronavirus cases in the country and 19 fatalities have been reported. The World Health Orgzation (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11.
( With inputs from ANI )