India struggles to enforce lockdown that left millions stranded and without food

By Rachel Mills 

Thousands of migrant workers are trying to flee India's major cities after a government lockdown designed to prevent an epidemic of coronavirus left them without jobs or pay, according to CNN.

BBC World News reports that according to government statistics, more than nine million migrant workers move from India's rural areas to major cities every year to find work and send money back to their home towns and villages.

The potential mass migration may undermine attempts by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to prevent the localized spread of the coronavirus, with some workers even attempting to make the journey on foot, due to widespread closures of public transport, according to CNN.

While people are banned from leaving their homes under the "total lockdown" measures, there have been reports of long queues and panic buying as people struggle to get supplies, according to BBC.

Millions have been left jobless and without money by the shutdown. 

BBC also reports there are fears that an outbreak in the country - one of the world's most densely-populated - could result in a catastrophe. So far about 900 are confirmed infected and 20 people are reported to have died.

Experts worry that the real number of infections could be far higher. India has one of the lowest testing rates in the world, although efforts are under way to ramp up capacity, according to BBC.