BCCI to donate 2000 oxygen concentrators towards India's Covid relief

The BCCI will contribute 2000 10-litre oxygen concentrators towards India's efforts in fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic. India is currently facing a second wave of infections, recording 250,000 new cases every day on average for the last seven days.

"Over the next few months, the board will distribute the concentrators across India with the hope that critical medical aid and care will be provided to the needy patients and this initiative will reduce the havoc unleashed by the pandemic," the BCCI stated in a release.

Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president, said the board acknowledges the role the medical and healthcare community has played and continues to play in dealing with the pandemic. "They have truly been frontline warriors and have done whatever possible to shield us," he was quoted as saying in the release. "The oxygen concentrators will provide immediate relief to those affected and will help in their speedy recovery."

The BCCI secretary Jay Shah too hoped that the board's effort would "help in narrowing the demand-supply gap that has been generated across the country" and urged everyone eligible to get vaccinated. In March 2020, during the first wave, the BCCI had contributed Rs 51 crore to the 'PM Cares Fund'.

Meanwhile, Pandya brothers - Hardik and Krunal - are also dispatching oxygen concentrators to the centres dealing with the crisis.

"This new batch of Oxygen Concentrators are being dispatched to Covid centres with prayers in our hearts for everyones speedy recovery," Krunal tweeted on Monday.

An oxygen concentrator is a portable and cost-effective source of medical oxygen. It operates by drawing air from the environment to deliver continuous, clean and concentrated oxygen to needy patients.