Fight Against COVID-19: Shah Rukh Khan Provides Protection Kits; Maharashtra Health Minister Appreciates Contribution

New Delhi: From master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, cricketer MS Dhoni, to actor Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, to singer Lata Mangeshkar, various celebrities have come forward and donated money to help the government fight the pandemic – novel coronavirus. Just like others, the Badshah of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, has also done his bit by contributing to various relief funds, providing for personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare providers, groceries, daily food requirements and other essentials. Recently, giving a boost to frontline healthcare workers, Shah Rukh Khan contributed for 25,000 PPE kits to the Maharashtra Health Department.

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Sharing the news on social media and thanking the actor for his generous contribution, Rajesh Tope, Minister of Public Health and Family Welfare said, “Many thanks Mr. Shah Rukh Khan for your kind contribution of 25,000 PPE kits. This will go a long way in supporting our fight against COVID19 & protecting our frontline medical care team.”

Responding to Mr Tope, SRK thanked him for the help in sourcing the kits and said, “We are all together in this endeavour to protect ourselves and humanity. Glad to be of service. May your family & team be safe and healthy.”

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Since the nationwide lockdown, the actor has been active on his social media, reaching out to various government authorities and contributing in whichever way he can. On April 2, SRK made an appeal to people through his social media handle to look after each other and ensure no one feels lonely in this battle against the novel coronavirus. He wrote, “In these times it’s imp to make everyone around u working tirelessly for u.. not related to u.. perhaps even unknown to u… to feel they are not alone and by themselves. Let’s just make sure we all do our little bit to look after each other. India and all Indians are One Family.”

By sharing a post of Red Chillies Entertainment, production house headed by Shah Rukh Khan and wife Gauri Khan, the actor announced donations to Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES), and Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Relief Fund. Along with this, the 54-year-old actor pledged to support and protect the health care workers by providing for PPE kits. The post read,

KKR and Meer Foundation will work with the West Bengal and Maharashtra governments and contribute 50,000 PPE kits.

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Through his group of companies, the actor also announced to provide daily food requirements to over 5,500 families for at least a month in Mumbai; set-up a kitchen to send out 2,000 freshly cooked meals everyday to help households and hospitals whose daily needs aren’t being fulfilled and provide three lakh meal kits for at least a month.

Extending his support to other states, the actor noted that Meer Foundation along with Working People’s Charter will provide basic essentials and grocery items for at least a month to over 2,500 daily wage workers who have been identified across Delhi.

Lastly, SRK and group of companies pledged to provide a monthly stipend to take care of the basic needs of over 100 acid attack survivors identified in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttarakhand.

The detailed post also mentioned that this is a start and the team stands committed to doing further as they get to know about more requirements.

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The contribution received appreciation from Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray and Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamta Banerjee.

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Later on April 4, the actor and his wife offered their four storey personal office space to be turned into a quarantine facility in Mumbai. Sharing the news on Twitter, Mumbai civic body BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) thanked the duo for their kind gesture and wrote, “Stronger together. We thank Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan for offering their 4-storey personal office space to help expand our quarantine capacity equipped with essentials for quarantined children, women and elderly. Indeed a thoughtful and timely gesture!”

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