Anand Mahindra offers resorts as COVID-19 hospitals, donates 100% of salary to set up fund

Industrialist says Mahindra Group will get its manufacturing units to make ventilators, amid fears that India could be in ‘Stage 3’ of coronavirus spread.

File image of Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra | Photo: Bloomberg

New Delhi: As India observed ‘janata curfew’ to prevent the spread of COVID-19 Sunday, Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra took to Twitter to offer help to the government, in a bid to strengthen the efforts to combat the disease.

In a five-part tweet, the industrialist also expressed his fears that India is already in ‘Stage 3’ of the transmission of the coronavirus, which is community transmission, and said this could cause an exponential rise in the number of cases “putting a huge strain on medical infrastructure”, creating the need for temporary hospitals and ventilators.

Mahindra offered that the resorts owned by his company be utilised as temporary care facilities. He also said his projects team is fully prepared to assist the government or the Army in erecting temporary care facilities.

He also announced that the Mahindra Group will immediately begin figuring out how its manufacturing facilities can make ventilators. He also asserted that a lockdown over the next few weeks is the need of the hour, as it will help flatten the curve, along with moderating the peak pressure on the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

—To help in the response to this unprecedented threat, we at the Mahindra Group will immediately begin work on how our manufacturing facilities can make ventilators.
—At Mahindra Holidays, we stand ready to offer our resorts as temporary care facilities. (3/5)

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 22, 2020

Donates own salary to set up fund

The billionaire also announced that the Mahindra Foundation will create a fund to assist the hardest-hit sections, like small businesses and self-employed people, in the economy and the value chain. Mahindra offered 100 per cent of his salary to the fund, with further additions later on, and encouraged others from different sectors to voluntarily contribute to it.

—We will encourage associates to voluntarily contribute to the Fund. I will contribute 100% of my salary to it & will add more over the next few months. I urge all our various businesses to also set aside contributions for those who are the hardest hit in their ecosystems (5/5)

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 22, 2020

Mahindra had said earlier: “The coronavirus pandemic will leave behind a global recession with small businesses, self-employed and daily wagers taking the worst hit.”

He had also shared his personal experiences during the time of coronavirus outbreak, putting up a picture and revealing how he was dealing with social distancing and staying at home during the pandemic.