Amitabh helps raise Rs.4.86 cr to save tigers

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan is a person who will never say no to a noble cause. Recently, he raise fund of over Rs.4.86 crore at NDTV's 12-hour telethon to support the Save Our Tiger campaign.

Campaign ambassador Amitabh Bachchan along with NDTV's Prannoy Roy and Vikram Chandra brought to light the issues of tiger conservation during the telethon. The actor donated Rs.28 lakh besides auctioning his watch and two sun glasses, which fetched another Rs.845,000. Investment banker Hemendra Kothari donated Rs.2.43 crore towards the cause and Hyderabad-based Chirec School raised Rs.220,000.

“What an incredible day! Just back from the Telethon for Save Our Tiger campaign. 12 hours non-stop live television. Collecting funds for the most important and noble cause. Thoroughly excited with what transpired. Collected approx 5 crore Rupees. Gave personal belongings for auction - two of my favourite sun glasses and a watch of mine. The glasses went for 1.25 lakhs, and 70,000 rupees. The watch went for 7.20 lakhs. And all for the cause of saving this beautiful animal," wrote Amitabh on his blog.

“A feeling of great satisfaction to be a part of this effort and a great education for me on what the preservation of the tiger means to all of us. Truly very committed individuals that have been pushing this very important cause for years and finally seeing something concrete being taken up," he added.

Director of Wildlife Conservation Trust Anish Andheria said that the funds raised from the telethon could deploy 35 rapid response teams (RRTs) and cover all the 38 tiger reserves in the country. The population of tigers in the country is reduced to an alarming1411 today.