Former India captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly became one of the first sports personality to come out in support of those affected by 21-day lockdown due to coronavirus. Ganguly, 47, has pledged to donate rice worth Rs 50 lakh for those in need. The Cricket Association of Bengal, of which Ganguly was a former president before upgrading to BCCI, announced in a statement that the BCCI chief will partner with Lal Baba Rice to help the underprivileged and all those that have taken shelter in government schools for safety and security in Bengal. Sourav Ganguly to Donate Rice Worth Rs 50 Lakh for Underprivileged Amid COVID-19 Lockdown in India.

“Hope this initiative of Ganguly would encourage other citizens of the state to take up similar initiatives to serve the people of our state,” a statement from the CAB was quoted by news agency PTI. The 424-time capped former Indian international had earlier put out a video on his social media channels to urge people to maintain self-isolation and follow the government directives.

Sourav Ganguly to Donate Rice Worth Rs 50 Lakh

“Be sensible and stay indoors,” said Ganguly in the short video clip. He was widely praised on Twitter for coming out in support for the affected people.

Dada is Love!!

Kudos Dada

Dada Leading From Front

Dada is a Hero

Salute to Dada

Wonderful Sourav Ganguly

Not Just Any Other Cricketer, A Good Human Being Too

Meanwhile, India has gone under a complete lockdown since March 25, 2020 (Wednesday) and will remain under shutdown until April 14 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a 21-day nation-wide lockdown in a video conference to the country in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had already claimed over 16, 000 lives worldwide and affected over 4 lakh people. In India 12 have died after getting diagnosed with the deadly virus while 664 people have been confirmed to have contracted the virus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 26, 2020 09:27 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).