MCA pledges Rs 50 lakh to Maharashtra government for virus combat

Dr Vijay Patil

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president Dr Vijay Patil on Thursday called for an urgent meeting of the Apex Council where it was decided to donate R50 lakh to the Maharashtra Chief Minister's relief fund set up to battle the Coronavirus pandemic.

Maharashtra is India's worst affected state with 121 confirmed cases till Thursday. The state has been under complete lockdown since March 23.

In a first, the MCA Apex Council members met virtually over video conferencing to take this decision. "The Apex Council members let the president and secretary decide on the donation amount. We decided to donate R50 lakh for the cause. It was an urgent meeting called by the president," MCA secretary Sanjay Naik told mid-day. For the last few days, the MCA Apex Council members have been discussing the prospect of writing to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to offer the Wankhede Stadium and the MCA's facilities to the state government if needed.

Although there was no official discussion about this in Thursday's meeting, Naik said the MCA is ready to help the government in every possible way. "I really hope that such a situation does not arise in Maharashtra due to Coronavirus, but we are ready to give our ground and facilities to the government if the situation escalates," said Naik.

The MCA also took the decision to not deduct the salaries of their office staff, groundsmen despite all activities coming to a standstill since March 14. The MCA office has been shut since March 17.

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