Corporates, philanthropists, businessmen, hospitals, actors and banks are donating to the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund and chipping in with medical equipment to help the government fight the pandemic.
Zoho Corporation Private Limited has pitched in with ₹5 crore. Its managing director Kumar Vembu handed over the cheque to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at the Secretariat on Thursday.
City Union Bank credited ₹1 crore into the account of the State’s Disaster Management Authority on an appeal from the Chief Minister, as part of an initiative under corporate social responsibility. In a release, the bank said the amount was in addition to the over ₹1.37 crore donated on April 1, 2021, for tackling the second wave of COVID-19. The amount comprised ₹94 lakh provided to the Thanjavur Collector for purchasing an oxygen floor meter and ₹35 lakh for installing the meter and other medical equipment in the Kumbakonam municipality.
GRT Group has given ₹1 crore to the fund. Its managing directors G.R. Ananthapadmanabhan and G.R. Radhakrishnan handed over the cheque to the Chief Minister.
Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology Chancellor Maria Zeena Johnson and president Marie Johnson gave a cheque for ₹50 lakh to Mr. Stalin.
The Panimalar Group has donated ₹50 lakh. Group secretary P. Chinnadurai and directors C. Sakthikumar and Saranya Sakthikumar presented the cheque.
With these donations, a total of ₹1 crore was given to the government by the Sathyabama Group of Institutions. In the first wave, its hospital and hostels had been set aside as quarantine centres.
Akash Hospital has donated ₹25 lakh, and the amount was handed over by founder A. Selvarajakumar.
The Government Medical College, Omandurar Government Estate, where a large number of COVID-19 patients are being treated, received 50 oxygen flow meters donated by Rajan Eye Care and Rotary Club of Madras, T. Nagar, under Project ‘O2’.
Actor Sivakumar, along with his sons Suriya and Karthi, met Mr. Stalin at the Secretariat on Wednesday and handed over a cheque for ₹1 crore.
Stalin’s plea
The Chief Minister on Thursday called upon Tamils across the world to contribute to the CMPRF to fight COVID-19.
“At a time when there is a medical and financial crisis, you should come forward to associate yourselves with the task of protecting people,” he said in a video message.
He assured that the contributions would be used only for the purchase of beds, vaccines and other medicines. “The details will be made public and [donations] will be exempted from income tax,” he said.
