Coronavirus Lockdown Hits Poor, Tests Modi's Support

Ravi Prasad Gupta, a worker at a pipe plant in the western Indian state of Gujarat, for years proudly supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his promise to usher in good days for millions of impoverished labourers.

But Modi on March 24 announced a three-week lockdown to fight the coronavirus, which meant Gupta lost his job and so decided to head home, first by train and then on foot.

I voted for Modi in all the elections but now I'm very sure that he works only for the big people and not for a man like me, Gupta said in the northern town of Lucknow where he was getting on a truck for the next leg of his journey home.

The shutdown has dealt a body blow to India's neediest, many of whom have long backed Modi, the 69-year old son of a tea seller whose Hindu nationalist administration was first elected in 2014.

Thousands of desperate day labourers like Gupta have walked hundreds of miles home - and more than 20 have reportedly died on the way. In slums, anxious families are low on food, while homeless shelters are overflowing.

Modi says the lockdown is necessary to avert a humanitarian calamity in India, where healthcare has long been weak and millions live in crowded, unsanitary conditions.

The country has reported more than 2,000 coronavirus cases and 56 deaths but many health experts are bracing for a surge of infections despite the government's efforts.

Modi has apologised to the poor and two days after announcing the lockdown, his government unveiled a $23 billion economic plan to hand out cash and food.

Government critics say the shutdown was poorly planned, and that authorities are now scrambling to contain its fallout instead of focusing on the coronavirus.