India to help millions of migrant workers leave cities as some states report rising infection rate

India will run more special trains and buses to allow millions of distressed migrant workers to leave big cities, the federal government said on Tuesday.

Workers are walking long distances to their homes in the countryside ever since PM Narendra Modi imposed a vast lockdown in March to control the spread of coronavirus, shutting down all public transportation.

After initially trying to keep workers in their cities of employment, authorities are now helping them get home. The Ministry of Home Affairs is in talks with states to run trains and buses, and set up rest stops for those on foot.

The move comes as India’s confirmed cases surged past 100,000 on Tuesday, outstripping China, where the virus emerged late last year, Reuters said. Concerns are also growing in some states over rising infections from those returning home.