Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the extension of the three-week nationwide lockdown for another 19 days till May 3 to battle the coronavirus pandemic but indicated easing some curbs after April 20 in areas which are not hotspots to allow some select necessary activities.
As his government seeks to balance containment measures to control the coronavirus spread with demands for phased reopening of the economy, the prime minister acknowledged that the lockdown has come at a huge economic cost and also inflicted pain on the people, especially the poor, calling them disciplined soldiers.
Modi, however, asserted that India has chosen the correct path, and managed to avert to a large extent the damage caused by the pandemic in many countries. India has recorded over 11,000 COVID-19 infections with a record single day increase of 1,463 cases in the last 24 hours.
Hours after Modi's announcement in a televised address to the nation on the last day of the lockdown, a large number of migrant workers rendered jobless came out on road in Mumbai, the adjacent Thane district and Surat in Gujarat demanding transport arrangements to return to their native places.
According to a police official in Mumbai, the daily wage earners, numbering around 1,000, assembled at Bandra (West) bus depot near the railway station and squatted on the road for nearly two hours from 3 pm. Most of them hailed from West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
Police had to resort to a mild cane charge to disperse the crowd.
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh told a TV channel that the migrant workers might have expected that the prime minister would order reopening of the state borders.
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The prime minister's announcement on lockdown extension came at a time when India has recorded a sharp spike in the cases in the last one week ever since Kerala reported the country's first COVID-19 infection on January 30.
The third and final week of the lockdown saw a jump of 5,574 cases and 215 deaths, an analysis of official data showed.
According to the latest health ministry data, there has been a record single day increase of 1,463 cases in the last 24 hours taking the total number to 10,815. The death toll currently stood at 353, it said.
A PTI tally compiled from states showed there were 11,312 cases with 389 deaths. The tally also showed that 211 of the 386 coronavirus patients in Kerala had recovered. There were two deaths in the state.
In his fourth address to the nation in the last one month on the coronavirus pandemic, Modi also announced that extensive guidelines for the second phase of the lockdown will be issued on Wednesday, declaring that his biggest priority is to save lives and minimise the hardships being faced by daily wagers and farmers.
According to Punjab Special Chief Secretary K B S Sidhu, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba will hold a video conference with all the chief secretaries and top officials of all the state governments tomorrow at 9.30 am. The details of the extended lockdown shall become known during and after this meeting, he said.
The extension of suspension of passenger train services and international and domestic commercial passenger flights till May 3 has already been announced
"During this time (till May 3), we must continue maintaining discipline in the same way we have been doing so far. A single new patient anywhere, should be a matter of concern for us... Any new hot spot will pose a new challenge."
Acknowledging the pain it has inflicted on people, especially the poor, Modi said, "I am well aware of the problems you have faced, some for food, some for movement from place to place and some due to staying away from their homes and families. However, for the sake of your country, you are fulfilling your duties like a disciplined soldier."