FCA India pledges Rs 2 cr to combat coronavirus pandemicFC'

New Delhi, Apr 30 () Automaker FCA India on Thursday said it has pledged around Rs 2 crore to help people affected by COVID-19 crisis in Mumbai, Pune and Chennai.

Specifically, FCA India Engineering has tied up with not-for-profit organisations, Sevalaya in Chennai and United Way in Mumbai for distribution of family kits to 1,500 families in the two cities, the company said in a statement.

A family kit, sufficient for a family of 4-5 individuals, comprises dry food, personal hygiene essentials (including toothpaste, soap and hand wash) and personal protective equipment (PPE), it added.

FCA India Engineering has also collaborated with Voluntary Health Services (VHS), a non-profit hospital trust in Chennai as well as Naidu Hospital, run by Pune Municipal Corporation, it added.

A 42-bed COVID-19 isolation ward in VHS will be supplied with medical equipment, and Naidu Hospital will be supplied with air validation systems and a medical oxygen pipeline necessary for treating infected patients, the company said.

"While a much-needed strategy is being put in place to restart economic activity by reopening various industries, large sections of the community are still displaced and are in need of basic necessities and proper medical treatment to survive the next couple of months," FCA India President and Managing Director Partha Datta said.

The company's initiatives are aimed at helping people tide over these difficult circumstances as critical steps are being taken to flatten the curve as quickly as possible, he added. MSS ANUANU