Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], Mar 31 : The Dalai Lama on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing his support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to control the disease and pledging a donation to the PM CARES Fund.
The holy leader said in the letter, "I appreciate the enormous challenges that this crisis poses to the world community and the need for strict measures to be taken to meet them."
The PM CARES Fund has been established by the Centre to help people affected by the nationwide lockdown in view of the surging coronavirus.
The Dalai Lama also praised Modi for the collective partnership and leadership role played by in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Prime Minister Modi chaired the virtual meeting of SAARC leaders on March 15 and announced the creation of SAARC Emergency Fund to fight the coronavirus in the region.
The Dalai Lama said, "I would like to thank you for the initiative that you have taken in partnership with other SAARC countries to set up an emergency fund and to exchange information, knowledge, and expertise to tackle the spread of Covid-19. Such collaboration will also create a model for dealing with similar problems in the future."
"As a token of my sympathy and support, I am making a donation from the Dalai Lama Trust to the PM CARES Fund set up to provide relief during crises such as this. I would also like to mention that members of my Office Staff would also like to contribute one day's salary to the Fund," he further said.
The Dalai Lama also said that PM CARES Fund will be able to provide urgent assistance to the people who are facing a loss of livelihood due to the necessary lockdowns.
"As I have stated elsewhere, I understand that as a result of the necessary lockdowns across the world, many people are facing tremendous hardship due to a loss of livelihood. For those with no stable income, in particular, it is becoming very hard to make ends meet. I hope, therefore, that charitable trusts such as the PM CARES Fund will be able to provide these people with urgently needed assistance."
The Dalai Lama affirmed his confidence in the steps taken by the central government and prayed for the effectiveness of these steps.
Last week, Prime Minister Modi announced a 21-day national lockdown to control the spread of the virus. Some other measures included the temporary suspension of all international and domestic flights. Only essential services are allowed to operate during the lockdown.
India has reported 1,251 cases, including 102 recovered and 32 deaths as per the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
( With inputs from ANI )