Akshay Kumar donates Rs. 45 lakh for daily wage earners
Akshay Kumar is playing a superhero, in real life. After a number of significant contributions towards various relief efforts aimed at fighting the coronavirus crisis, the 52-year-old Bollywood superstar has now donated Rs. 45 lakh to the Cine & TV Artistes' Association (CINTAA). The move is aimed at supporting the daily wage earners of the industry, who've been hardly hit by the ongoing crisis.
According to a report in Mid-Day, Akshay has directly transferred Rs. 3,000 each to the bank accounts of 1,500 daily wage earners of the film and TV industry. "We are grateful to Akshay for helping in such trying times," Amit Behl, senior joint secretary, CINTAA, told the publication. "We have been receiving messages of gratitude from the 1,500 daily wagers he helped," Behl added.
"The initiative was taken up by executive committee member and actor Ayub Khan. He roped in Jaaved Jaaferi to help connect with Sajid Nadiadwala and Akshay Kumar... Without any delay, Akshay requested for the list of our members," Behl further informed. He added that Akshay has promised to transfer more funds if the crisis deepens. Reportedly, there are about 10,000 employees associated with CINTAA.
Previously, Akshay contributed Rs. 25 crore to the Prime Minister's relief fund and Rs. 3 crore to Mumbai's municipal corporation for the procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits. In addition to that, the actor also donated Rs. 2 crore to the Mumbai Police Foundation, which looks after the medical needs of cops who are serving the city during the ongoing crisis.
Other Bollywood celebrities who have been working to provide relief against the pandemic include Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Sonu Sood, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Swara Bhasker, among others. Meanwhile, the pandemic continues to wreak havoc all around the world. Across India, COVID-19 has claimed nearly 4,540 lives and infected more than 1.58 lakh. Globally, it has killed 3,57,714 and sickened 58 lakh.
