Amitabh Bachchan says first consignment of oxygen concentrators to arrive on May 17, orders 50 more

The actor, who also shared that he had received the second and final dose of the coronavirus vaccine, said the consignment will be cleared by the Gurudwara Committee.
Amitabh Bachchan. (Photo | AFP)
Amitabh Bachchan. (Photo | AFP)

MUMBAI: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan on Sunday said that the first tranche of 50 oxygen concentrators he had ordered from Poland for the COVID-19 centre at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj will be landing in New Delhi tomorrow.

The 78-year-old actor, who has been regularly sharing the updates on his continued philanthropic efforts as the country fights its deadlier, second wave of the novel coronavirus, has ordered a batch of additional 50 oxygen concentrators of five litre capacity for medical facilities in Mumbai.

"The first consignment of the 50 Oxygen Concentrators ordered and bought by me from Poland should be on a plane as I write, and shall be landing in Delhi by 6 am tomorrow morning..." Bachchan wrote on his blog.

The screen icon has a personal connection with Poland: last year the City Council of Wroclaw named a square after his late father and celebrated poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

The actor, who also shared that he had received the second and final dose of the coronavirus vaccine, said the consignment will be cleared by the Gurudwara Committee.

"These shall be cleared by the Gurudwara Committee where I have donated where I have donated in the building of the 400 bed facility and which was inaugurated the other day ..300 functional immediately and the balance 100 in due time ..and the O2 concentrators shall also be donated to this facility for their discretionary use," he added.

Last week, the veteran actor donated Rs 2 crore to Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur COVID Care Centre at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib to combat the ongoing health crisis in the national capital.

"These are the 10 litre concentrators, but research from my office informs me that the 5 litre ones are also acceptable and in greater demand ..so I have bought another 50 oxygen concentrators today of the 5 litre capacity, and hopefully they should be despatched to us in a few days ..these shall be distributed to the needy facilities in Mumbai," Bachchan shared in the new post.

The 25-bedded care centre that he had donated for to be put up in a school in the suburban Juhu was ready, he said.

"The facilities are all in place ..and just today the relevant OC's have been obtained from the BMC and the Fire Brigade ..just one more permission is due to come tomorrow and with that the facility shall be ready to operate by Tuesday or Wednesday ...this is for the really needy and those that cannot afford the expenses required for their treatment." The actor shared that he was able to deliver the first lot of 10 ventilators to the desired locations -- six to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), three hospitals and one clinic in the city.

"There is always a sense of satisfaction on seeing your efforts at giving to the needy and to those in distress," Bachchan said.

"I give wherever I can ..my means are extremely limited ...it may not seem so, but they are ..somehow by the grace of the Almighty they come to me ..I have not made any effort to collect them through campaigns or donations to a cause that I may have instituted."

He said he was not seeking praise for his philanthropical efforts, but has been forthcoming about giving description of the work done during this time "to assure all of the delivery and the visuals of where the funds have been used and to what avail ..that they are not just blank promises".

Bachchan also wrote about Cyclone Tauktae, which is likely to pass close to the city.

"Cyclone Tauktae in the Arabian Sea intensifies along the Western Coasts of India ..from the South moving up ..the effects of its arrival have begun here in Mumbai with rain as I write .." 

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