Bengaluru, May 7: India's cricket captain Virat Kohli and his Bollywood actor wife Anushka Sharma have donated Rs 2 crore to a fund-raising project, which will raise a total of Rs 7 crore to support the country's fight against the dreaded coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The two are raising money through crowd-funding platform Ketto.
"Virat Kohli and Bollywood superstar Anushka Sharma are aiming to raise Rs. 7 crore for COVID relief in India," a press release from the celebrity couple stated.
It was shared on their social media handles as well.
Anushka and I have started a campaign on @ketto, to raise funds for Covid-19 relief, and we would be grateful for your support.
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 7, 2021
Let’s all come together and help those around us in need of our support.
I urge you all to join our movement.
Link in Bio! 🙏#InThisTogether pic.twitter.com/RjpbOP2i4G
"They're kickstarting a fundraising campaign #InThisTogether on the crowd-funding platform Ketto and are putting Rs. 2 crore for this initiative," the release added.
The #InThisTogether campaign will run for seven days on Ketto and the proceeds will be directed to ACT Grants, the implementation partner which will work towards providing oxygen, medical manpower, vaccination awareness and tele-medicine facilities all through the pandemic and the amount.
Anushka said it has been painful to watch the suffering of people as the country's health-care system struggled to cope with the case load.
"Virat and I've been hugely pained looking at the inexplicable suffering that people are going through and we hope that this fund will aid in our fight against the virus that we're all helplessly witnessing," Anushka tweeted.
We shall all overcome this crisis together. Please step forward to support India and Indians. Your contribution will help in saving lives during this critical time.
— Anushka Sharma (@AnushkaSharma) May 7, 2021
Click on https://t.co/XTuqyHsJi4 to make an impact.
Mask up! Stay home! Stay safe! 🇮🇳
Kohli said that he and his wife had tried to help as many peope as possible in their fight against the dreaded virus.
"We've been working towards helping as many people as possible all through the pandemic and now, India wants our support more than ever," he said.
Gayatri Yadav, spokesperson ACT Grants said, "Having strong voices like Anushka and Virat help drive fundraising efforts will go a long way towards helping us realise this goal. On behalf of India's startup ecosystem, ACT Grants is truly grateful to have them join this mission."
(With PTI inputs)