'What we know is we have been left hungry and penniless because of the lockdown.'
Narendra Modi's grand announcement of a $265-billion rescue package for India is little comfort to Manish Verma, one of millions left destitute and desperate 50 days into a crippling coronavirus lockdown.
Verma, a construction worker, was left jobless after Modi shut down without warning virtually all activity in Asia's third-largest economy in late March. "They treat us as if we are not humans, we are animals," Verma told AFP on the first day of his journey, after setting off at midnight.Hundreds of thousands among India's 45 million migrant workers have decided simply to up sticks and return to their home villages, sometimes hundreds of kilometres away, and many on foot.
Around 180 have already died en route, some hit by vehicles and others from sheer exhaustion, say activists. One was a two-year-old girl.Last week 16 workers were crushed by a goods train as they slept on the tracks.Prime Minister Modi's 20-trillion-rupee rescue package announced on Tuesday is aimed largely at helping businesses -- many of which employ the migrant workers -- keep afloat.
Some states like Bihar and West Bengal are giving out $13 each to their workers stranded across the country, while Delhi and other places have been providing free food.
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