Coronavirus in India: How Amitabh Bachchan has been helping Delhi, Mumbai in fight against COVID-19

The actor has been also arranging packets of cooked food as well as dry ration for people who might need them ever since the coronavirus lockdown had been announced in 2020. (File image)

Coronavirus in India: As India is battling an intense second wave of COVID-19, veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan has stepped up to help. According to a report in IE, the actor has contributed a sum of Rs 2 crore to help set up a COVID care facility at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in the national capital. The facility, which is set to become operational from Monday, would have 400 beds to aid patients. Notably, in the first wave that the country had witnessed last year, Bachchan had donated about Rs 7 crore to several gurdwaras in Delhi.

Apart from this, in Mumbai itself, Big B has provided COVID care centres with funds for ventilators, and has also donated masks, sanitisers as well as PPE kits.

The report cited Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee President Manjinder Singh Sirsa as saying that the Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib facility was scheduled to become operational at 8 am on Monday, and added him as saying that the centre had been set up at the Bhai Lakhi Shah Vanjara Hall of the premises. Moreover, in order to honour the 400th anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the facility has been renamed to Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur COVID Care Centre.

Meanwhile, BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal was quoted by the report as saying that the veteran actor asked about the cost of ventilators on Thursday and then committed to provide Rs 1 crore to the civic body so that they can purchase seven ventilators for the COVID centres that the BMC is running.

The actor has been also arranging packets of cooked food as well as dry ration for people who might need them ever since the coronavirus lockdown had been announced in 2020.

The report further quoted Sirsa as saying that in the process of setting up the COVID centre at the Delhi Gurdwara, the actor was very involved, and he made calls across the world in order to ensure that the facility was equipped with oxygen concentrators.

Meanwhile, the General Secretary of the management committee of Delhi gurdwaras Harmeet Singh Kalka was cited as saying that of the 400 beds, 300 ould be functional from Monday. They would also have six semi-ICU beds to help patients who might be critical, and for emergency and ICU facilities, it would be linked to Lok Nayak Hospital.

Sirsa further said that while the actor had also been a contributor last year, he had wanted to keep it under wraps, however, this time, they decided to make this information public because it gave people hope.