But the decision has stung millions of India’s poor, leaving many hungry and forcing jobless migrant laborers to flee cities and walk hundreds of kilometers to their native villages. “I would firstly like to seek forgiveness from all my countrymen,” Modi said in a nationwide radio address. The government announced a $22.6 billion economic stimulus plan on Thursday to provide direct cash transfers and food handouts to India’s poor. The lockdown is expected to exacerbate India’s economic woes at a time when growth had already slumped to its lowest pace in six years. “The Gov’t had no contingency plans in place for this exodus,” tweeted opposition politician Rahul Gandhi as images of migrant laborers walking long distances to return home dominated local media.

Source: The Express Tribune March 29, 2020 11:37 UTC