-Scroll.in Falling through the cracks of the public distribution system, they fear stepping out, even for food. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a national lockdown on March 24 and asked Indians to stay home in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus, it triggered an exodus of migrant workers from the cities. With all work halted and public Transport shut, they set off on desperate journeys, aiming to walk back...

-The Indian Express Invisible, largely, in the Census and in national sample surveys — and consequently to administrators — field studies have consistently claimed short-term labour mobility in India was significant. Of the many, many countries that COVID has now locked down, India stands, or rather, walks, alone. Bereft of Transport, by road or rail, people are walking home, to nearby districts, and to far-off destinations several hundred kilometres away, the mother...

-The Hindu While some can practise social distancing, most Indians simply cannot as they have no social security What could possibly have been the reason for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give only a four-hour notice for the lockdown? If the requirement was to keep the population indoors, strictly enforcing social distancing, how abjectly this has failed! Lakhs of migrant labourers have been jostling to get any form of Transport back home;...

-The Hindu In dealing with the crisis, the Centre should not only learn from States but also act on its own In dealing with the health and economic crisis, the Central government’s apathy is disappointing. The Prime Minister’s speech created panic even for the well-off. For the most vulnerable, it triggered a huge exodus from the cities. They were given neither time to prepare for the unplanned lockdown nor support to cope...

-The Indian Express Confusion marked the initiatives — unlocking funds, ordering relief camps — with some states arranging Transport for the returning migrants and others issuing frantic calls asking them not to move because of the danger of the infection spreading. New Delhi: As the national coronavirus lockdown entered the fourth day, the Centre and states scrambled to respond to an unfolding human crisis triggered by an unprecedented exodus of migrant workers. Confusion...