The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that it will distribute 2,000 oxygen concentrators of 10 litres each to various medical organisations to help fight the raging second wave of Covid-19 in India. During the first wave last year, the BCCI had contributed INR 51 crores to the PM Cares fund.
‘The nation has been hit by an unprecedented second wave of the coronavirus with demands for medical equipment and life-saving oxygen witnessing a major spike,’ BCCI said in a statement. ‘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 price of a 10-litre oxygen concentrator costs anything between INR 60,000 and INR 1 lakh.
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly thanked the frontline warriors for shielding Indian citizens against the pandemic: ‘The BCCI acknowledges the stellar role the medical and healthcare community has played and continues to play as we fight this long battle against the virus.’
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah added: ‘The BCCI understands the desperate need for medical equipment in this hour of crisis and hopes this effort will help in narrowing the demand-supply gap that has generated across the country.’
As per the latest balance sheet (for financial year 2018/19), the BCCI is the richest cricket body in the world. It is worth INR 14,489.80 crores.