Coronavirus: Producers Guild of India sets up relief fund for daily wagers in industry

The Producers Guild of India (GUILD) has announced that it will set up a relief fund for Industry workers affected by the shutdown caused by coronavirus pandemic.

In a media release that was shared on Twitter by the President of The Producer Guild of India, Siddharth Roy Kapur has urged the members of the film fraternity to contribute to the fund to minimize the disruption in the lives of the daily wage earners in the industry.

"In light of the complete shutdown of all production-related activity for the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there is bound to be a significant impact on the lives and livelihoods of daily wage earners in the industry," the media release noted.

Producers Guild of India sets up Relief Fund for workers affected by production shutdown owing to the COVID-19 epidemic-Official Statement#SiddharthRoyKapur @kulmeetmakkar #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/OGARZbDWxl

— producersguildindia (@producers_guild) March 17, 2020

The decision comes after many people from the film industry including filmmakers Sudhir Mishra, Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap, had raised concerns over the impact of the shutdown on the daily wage workers.

Actor-Director Farhan Akhtar has shared the media statement on Twitter and wrote, "Need of the hour. Request all my friends in the film fraternity to donate generously."

Need of the hour. Request all my friends in the film fraternity to donate generously. @producers_guild 👍🏽 #ReliefFund https://t.co/iWt4pDvlxk

— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) March 17, 2020

On March 15, The Producers Guild of India had decided to suspend shooting between March 19 to March 31 due to the ongoing threat of coronavirus.

Official statement by Producers Guild of India on the health and safety concerns during productions owing to the ongoing threat of #coronavirus @kulmeetmakkar pic.twitter.com/i4AVCLpZFp

— producersguildindia (@producers_guild) March 15, 2020

Coronavirus outbreak has affected work in several sectors and has led to the suspension of several film and TV projects.

It has infected over 1.63 lakh people in 100-plus countries around the world, claiming over 6,000 lives. In India, over 151 cases of coronavirus have been detected so far.