Producers Guild of India sets up relief fund amid coronavirus outbreak

With the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic halting all shooting and production work of Indian entertainment industry, the Producers Guild of India has set up a relief fund for workers affected by the shutdown.

"The Producers Guild of India today announced that it would set up a Relief Fund for daily wage earners impacted by the complete shutdown of film, television and OTT productions owing to the COVID-19 epidemic," read an official statement by the body.

"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," said the President of The Producers Guild of India, Siddharth Roy Kapur.

"We would encourage the entire fraternity to contribute to the Fund, to ensure that we can do all we can to minimise the disruption in the lives of our valued colleagues and associates in this difficult time", added Kapur.

Anyone who has the will to contribute to the relief fund can send a mail to the body, the statement read.

Considering the scare of coronavirus outbreak, the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA) on Sunday officially decided to stop all entertainment format shoot from March 19 to 31.

The decision of re-starting the shoot will be taken on March 30 after considering the prevailing situation.