Actor Akshay Kumar, known for his philanthropic ventures, has pledged a sum of Rs 1 crore to cricketer Gautam Gambhir's Delhi-based NGO for helping those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 39-year-old cricketer thanked Akshay Kumar in a tweet of gratitude on Saturday evening, writing: "Every help in this gloom comes as a ray of hope. Thanks a lot Akshay Kumar for committing Rs 1 crore to Gautam Gambhir Foundation for food, meds and oxygen for the needy! God bless." Replying to Gautam Gambhir's tweet, Akshay Kumar, who had contracted the virus earlier in April, wrote about looking forward to better times: "These are really tough times, Gautam Gambhir. Glad I could help. Wish we all get out of this crisis soon. Stay Safe."
Take a look at Gautam Gambhir and Akshay Kumar's tweets here:
Last year, Akshay Kumar contributed Rs 25 crore to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's relief fund for COVID-19.
On Sunday, India reported a record daily rise of 349,691 new coronavirus cases, taking its overall count to 1,69,60,172. According to health ministry data, 2,767 deaths were reported on Sunday taking total coronavirus fatalities to 192,311.The country is battling its second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and a sudden rise in cases has triggered an Oxygen crisis in Delhi and some other states. Pleas for help are being sent out by top hospitals, patients and their family and friends amid shortage of medical oxygen and hospital beds.
Earlier this month, Akshay Kumar tested positive for COVID-19 and was hospitalised at a Mumbai facility. A week later, Akshay's wife, author Twinkle Khanna revealed that the actor has returned home.
Akshay Kumar's coronavirus diagnosis arrived at a time when the actor, along with the team of Ram Setu, were shooting in Madh Island. News agency PTI reported that some 45 crew members showed positive results in the mandatory COVID-19 test - 40 of them were junior artistes while five were from Akshay Kumar's team.