Mumbai: Amitabh Bachchan finds it ‘embarrassing’ to share his charitable efforts in public. But a series of negative comments about celebrities not doing enough towards India’s gigantic battle against the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic has led to a change of mind.
The Bollywood legend wrote in a blog that he and his family have been facing “everyday abuse and the filth of distasteful comments” since “time immemorial”, and went on to list all his charitable acts.
He revealed that he has contributed Rs 2 crore towards a COVID-19 facility in Delhi.
“Over 1500 farmers’ bank loans paid off by my personal fund and prevented them from suicide,” he wrote.
He went on to write that last year, he provided food for “over 400,000 daily wage earners in the country for a month.. feeding almost 5000 in the city each day lunch and dinner, and masks, PPE units to frontline warriors, police hospitals in thousands.. through personal funds.”
He informed that he had booked 30 buses to locations in UP and Bihar for stranded migrant workers and supplied them food and water for the overnight travel. He also provided footwear to those who didn’t have any.
“Booked an entire train from Mumbai to UP to carry 2800 migrant passengers free of cost at my expense.. and when the destination state blocked the train from coming into their state and cancelled the train, immediately chartered 3 Indigo Airline planes and flew almost 180 migrants in each flight to UP and Bihar and some to Rajasthan and J&K,” he added.
Bachchan went on to state that he has arranged for 20 ventilators for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and donated towards a facility set up at the Rakabganj Sahib Gurudwara.
“Donated an entire Diagnostic Centre opened at Bangla Sahib Gurudwara in Delhi through the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee,” he informed, adding that he has “adopted” two children who lost their parents to COVID-19. Their education will be financed by him till the 10th grade.
