Harbhajan Singh was left fuming by the news of a fire in Jaipur caused by firecrackers that were burst on Sunday at around 9 pm, when citizens were supposed to light candles and lamps as a show of solidarity amid the on-going coronavirus pandemic. Re-tweeting a journalist's video of the incident, Harbhajan wrote "We Will find a cure for corona but how r we gonna find a cure for stupidity." A thatched house on a vacant plot of land caught fire in the Vaishali Nagar area in Jaipur as firecrackers fell on its roof, according to police.
There were no casualties, police added.
Chief Fire Officer Jagdish Phulwari told news agency PTI that two firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control, adding that no one was present in the house at the time of the incident.
Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to show solidarity with the fight against the coronavirus, people across the country lit earthen lamps, candles and also burst firecrackers for nine minutes after 9 pm on Sunday.
Harbhajan Singh had backed PM Modi's idea.
"Every individual hs his own part to do 2 stay home.We r proud of our Team Leader @narendramodi Let's all continue to Stay home & be Safe.5th April at 9pm for 9 mins all lights off. Candles, Diya, torch, mobile flash to use bt only from home.No Streets Show Please," he had tweeted.
A total of 109 people have died of coronavirus in India, with 32 dying and 693 fresh cases in the last 24 hours alone, the highest so far. The latest figures from the Union Health Ministry take the takes the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country past the 4,000-mark, to 4,067 cases.