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From Our Own Correspondent: India lockdown: Millions of migrant workers flee the cities

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Millions of migrant workers in India are fleeing the cities after the lockdown was imposed

04/04/2020 GMT

India lockdown: Millions of migrant workers flee the cities

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, India lockdown: Millions of migrant workers flee the cities

Millions of migrant workers flee India’s cities in the ‘biggest exodus since partition’

Stories from India, Antarctica, Britain and Italy: A vast number of migrant workers in India began their journey from the big cities back to their villages after Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a national lockdown covering more than 1.3bn people. The informal workers form the backbone of the economy in the big cities – street hawkers, construction workers, plumbers and tailors to name a few. Now finding themselves without their livelihood, many of them are walking hundreds of kilometres far away from the squalid, close knit housing in the cities. Rahul Tandon spoke to some of the workers on the long walk home.
Every Thursday evening in the UK, a new ritual has begun. People are going out on their front door steps to clap the workers in the National Health Service who are working around the clock, often risking their lives, to help tackle the outbreak of Coronavirus. The British government has undergone criticism this week for being too slow to implement testing for health workers. Medical professionals have also expressed concerns about the shortage of personal protective equipment. Globally, numerous health workers have lost their lives on the frontline. Zeinab Badawi reflects on the loss of her cousin, a surgeon in the Midlands, and how even the fit and healthy are vulnerable to the aggressive onset of Covid-19. 

Italy has extended its lockdown until at least the 12th April – but there is a glimmer of hope for the country:  recent reports show a declining infection rate.  Italians have been living under these strict rules for three weeks, with most shops, bars and restaurants shut. They are not allowed to leave their homes unless it is deemed essential. Sima Kotecha looked at the impact this new reality has had on children.

There is one continent that is virus free or at least has no confirmed cases yet:  a place of all-consuming cold; of glaciers and penguins. Antarctica hosts an international community of 4000 scientists and support workers. Justin Rowlatt, underwent some very intensive medical checks before he was allowed to travel there. Now he’s back at home, reflecting on what he learned about isolation at the icy bottom of the world.


Caption: Migrant Workers Head Home During Coronavirus Lockdown

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