Modi opens up India despite predicted infection surge
THE world’s largest lockdown has been relaxed today, despite India registering a record number of new coronavirus cases over the weekend.
As the Indian government attempts to kick-start an ailing economy, which lost over £250billion between March 25 and May 1, private businesses are now allowed to fully reopen and interstate movement of goods and workers is permitted.
Despite a predicted surge in coronavirus cases, public health experts welcomed the decision saying it will alleviate an unprecedented humanitarian and economic crisis.
Narendra Modi, the prime minister, placed the country under a sudden, draconian lockdown more than two months ago, with Indians only allowed to leave their homes to purchase essential groceries or medical supplies.
Both public and private transport was banned and those who ventured out of their homes risked arrest or a beating from police.
These measures had a catastrophic impact on the nation’s labour force, with the livelihoods of India’s poor most adversely impacted.
Ninety per cent of the nation’s workforce are employed informally, meaning they do not possess a contract and are paid daily in cash, depending on fluctuations in the availability of work.
When the lockdown began on March 25 they were suddenly confined to their homes without sick pay. About 122 million Indians lost their jobs in April alone. Worst affected are the approximately 100 million internal migrant labourers who form the backbone of the urban economy, typically migrating from small towns and villages to cities like New Delhi and Mumbai.
While their work is varied, it is almost always unskilled and occurs in the informal sector – driving an auto rickshaw, labouring on a construction site or running a street stall.
In mid-april, a shocking study by an umbrella group of NGOS found that 96 per cent of marooned migrant workers had already burnt through their meagre savings and were not receiving any food aid. Many attempted to bypass police checkpoints and walk to their home villages – in some cases hundreds of miles away.
In his monthly address to the nation, Mr Modi warned Indians not to become “complacent”. “The road ahead is a long one,” he said.