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Coronavirus: India’s lockdown becomes hunger games for millions of country’s poorest
- Restrictions on movement in the nation of 1.3 billion people have been brutal on the poorest, with many falling through what patchy safety nets do exist
- A US$22.5 billion crisis package unveiled last month was supposed to help, but the relief is not reaching everyone who needs it
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India’s nationwide coronavirus lockdown, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday extended until May 3, has been brutal on the country’s poor.
Restrictions on movement in the world’s second-most populous nation of 1.3 billion people – put in place in late March – have hit rural migrant workers and other labourers especially hard.
In the eastern state of Jharkhand, 42-year-old Nirel Lakda has not worked in over a month. Even before the lockdown, he struggled to get by, earning 300 rupees (US$3.91) a day as a casual labourer. Now, the single father of two young daughters has run out of money and food, and relies on the charity of his sisters to survive.
“Between paying for food and my daughter’s school bills, I had barely anything left to save,” he said.
According to government data, nearly 67 per cent of India’s population is eligible for subsidised grain under the country’s National Food Security Act, which acts as a kind of safety net for the poor by providing essentials at affordable prices via its public distribution system.
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