Sourav Ganguly to provide free rice worth Rs 50 Lakh to people in need

After former cricketers Gautam Gambhir, Irfan and Yusuf Pathan pledged their support for the people in need in these times of turmoil, by donating money and safety kits respectively, Sourav Ganguly is the latest big name to join them. The BCCI President confirmed that he will be collaborating with the Lal Baba rice mill in West Bengal to provide free food worth Rs 50 Lakh to the people in need as the country is in the midst of a nationwide lockdown for a period of 21 days, in order to combat the novel Covid-19 virus.

"It is heartening to note that Sourav Ganguly along with Lal Baba Rice has come forward to provide free rice worth Rs 50 lacs to the needy people who have been put in government schools for safety and security,” read an official statement, reported News18.

"Hope this initiative of Ganguly would encourage other citizens of the state to take up similar initiatives to serve the people of our state.”

Meanwhile, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) confirmed that it will be donating a sum of Rs 25 lakh towards the West Bengal government's emergency relief fund to fight against the Covid-19 threat that has kept the entire country under lockdown. 

"In these uncertain times of COVID-19 when all our focus and resources have been on combating and eradicating this pandemic, the Cricket Association of Bengal has come forward and decided to donate a sum of Rs 25 lakh to the state administration in Corona Aid.

"We are perhaps going through the darkest phase of human civilization when worldwide lives have been lost to novel coronavirus.

"Cricket stands for unity. It also stands for humanity. Therefore, on behalf of CAB, we have decided to donate Rs 25 lakhs for now to the Emergency Relief Fund to be used in combating this disease. As a responsible institution, it is our duty to stand by the administration and help them eradicate this disease," said Avishek Dalmiya, president of CAB, in an official statement.