India places millions under lockdown, stops domestic flights

Millions of people across New Delhi and major Indian cities were placed under lockdown on Monday and domestic flights were ordered to be stopped to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Many people were still not taking the lockdown seriously, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, as television footage showed people at bus terminals and out in markets in different cities not adhering to social distancing norms.

“Please save yourself, save your family, follow the directives seriously. I request state governments to ensure that the rules and laws are followed,” Modi tweeted in Hindi.

Shortly after, the federal government took a tougher tone. It ordered the states to “strictly enforce” the lockdown, which continues until 31 March, and asked for legal action against those who violated the restrictions. Violators could face fines and jail for up to six months.

The government announced stricter lockdown measures on Monday evening, saying domestic flights would cease operations from Tuesday night.

Only cargo flights will be allowed. International flights have already been suspended till March 31.

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Across India, more than 80 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bengaluru were Monday beginning a complete lockdown, which means that only essential services would be allowed.

Railways, metros and inter-state buses have also been stopped and public transport including taxis were banned in several states.

Government utility offices and essential services – including shops selling groceries, banks, hospitals and pharmacies – will remain open.

Police have imposed prohibitory orders across different cities banning gatherings of more than four people.

But in Delhi, scores of migrant workers crowded the Anand Vihar bus station to board buses to go home.

Also, at several places in the eastern state of Bihar, crowds were seen panic-buying at grocery shops while others were roaming around.

Elsewhere, there have been complaints that bans on transport was impacting supplies of essential items, vegetables and medicines.

Across India, the number of positive cases soared in the last three days with 200 fresh cases. There were a total of 415 positive cases and seven people died, according to health officials.

Twelve private laboratory chains have registered to carry Covid-19 testing. The lab chains have 15,000 collection centres across India.

The government has so far maintained that there is no evidence yet of a community outbreak of the virus, which would make it harder to contain.

Amid the panic over the pandemic, India’s domestic markets recorded their biggest intra-day losses to end at three-year lows.

The benchmark 30-share Sensex crashed nearly 4,000 points to end the day’s trade at 25,981.24 points, down 13.15 per cent. The broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty of National Stock Exchange also tanked 1,135.20 points, down 12.98 per cent. (dpa)