Sachin Tendulkar donates Rs 1 crore to procure oxygen concentrators for COVID patients

NEW DELHI: Batting great Sachin Tendulkar has contributed Rs 1 crore to 'Mission Oxygen', an initiative on the medical fundraising website Ketto aiming to help procure oxygen cylinders for hospitals in India for Covid-19 patients.

"The second wave of Covid has put our health-care system under immense pressure. Providing oxygen for the large number of serious Covid patients is the need of the hour," Tendulkar said in a statement he released on his social media handles on Thursday.

"It is heartening to see how people are rising to the occasion. A group of 250+ young entrepreneurs have launched Mission Oxygen to raise funds for importing oxygen concentrators and donating them to hospitals across the country. I've helped by contributing to the cause and hope that their effort soon reaches out to many more hospitals across India. Today, we have to stand together behind everyone that is working hard to fight this pandemic," he further said.

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— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) April 29, 2021

Tendulkar's name appears at the top of the list of donors on the initiative's page on the website. It shows that it has thus far raised over Rs 17 crore as on Friday with a target of Rs 35 crore.

It said on Thursday that it has already placed "an order for 3,900 concentrators".

A few days back, Australia and Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Pat Cummins had donated USD 50,000 to purchase oxygen supplies for Indian hospitals.