Migrant labourers, who are out of work because of the lockdown enforced to check the spread of Covid-19, are returning to their native villages in the thousands—mostly on foot.

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for a 21-day lockdown in view of the rising number of infections from the novel Coronavirus. The number of cases at last count on Sunday was 979 cases; the death toll stood at 25.

With the lockdown bringing to a halt almost all economic activity, life has become particularly hard for migrant labourers, mostly daily-wagers employed in construction and other informal sectors.

A deserted petrol station in New Delhi.