During the 21-day nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly has pledged to donate rice worth Rs 50 lakh for the underprivileged.

This was announced in a statement by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) on Wednesday.

The BCCI president, along with Lal Baba Rice, will provide the rice to the needy people who have been put in government schools for safety and security during the 21- day lockdown period.

“Hope this initiative of Ganguly would encourage other citizens of the state to take up similar initiatives to serve the people of our state,” the Hindustan Times reported quoting CAB.

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The nationwide lockdown was called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (March 24) with an aim to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus.

Over 600 people have been infected in India so far and 12 persons have already died.

Over 4 lakh people have tested positive for the virus worldwide and the death toll is around 17,000.

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The virus was detected in the Wuhan city of China and it has infected over 190 countries so far with Italy and China being the worst affected.

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In Asia, South Korea is the second to China in terms of infection and over 80 persons have died in the country so far.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, major sporting events like the Indian Premier League (IPL), the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have either been rescheduled or cancelled.

The pandemic has heavily hit the world economy and the Sensex has crashed as well.

Hollywood actor Tom Hanks and his actress wife Rita Wilson were the first major American celebrities who tested positive for Coronavirus.

On Wednesday (March 25), Prince Charles of England also tested positive for coronavirus and he was placed in isolation in Scotland.