L&T to donate Rs 150 crore to support India's fight against coronavirus

Engineering and construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Tuesday committed to donate Rs 150 crore to the relief fund announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help fight the coronavirus outbreak in the country. The company said it is committed to participate in corporate India's response to COVID-19 through funds, community welfare plans and leveraging its expertise to offer assistance.

"Responding to the call given by Prime Minister of India, the company will donate Rs 150 crore to the PM-CARES Fund," L&T said in a statement.

Besides, the company has set aside a fund of over Rs 500 crore per month to support about 1.6 lakh contract workers by continuing to pay their wages during the ongoing lockdown and providing them with food and basic amenities at labour camps, it said.

Commenting on the company's preparedness to fight coronavirus pandemic, AM Naik, Group Chairman, Larsen & Toubro, said: "The company has always stood by the nation in its hour of need. We are helping India's fight against COVID-19 by way of immediate funding, and through a range of welfare initiatives including converting our training schools into isolation centers."

"We are also leveraging our engineering and construction expertise to help the authorities deal with the crisis," he added.

Besides, L&T is also considering transforming all company-owned training centers and other select establishments into isolation wards. It is exploring to supply critical healthcare equipment to hospitals engaged in treating COVID-19 patients, L&T said.

The company has also offered use of its community Health & Medical Centers 24X7 and use ambulances to transport patients to nearest hospitals.

L&T Smart World & Communication, a business unit of Larsen and Toubro, has installed smart technologies in over 20 major cities, including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Prayagraj, Ahmedabad, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad and others. These technologies will help various state governments and local authorities to fight COVID-19 pandemic effectively, the company said.

By Chitranjan Kumar

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