Chaos as Modi puts India in total lockdown for three weeks

A migrant worker holding her baby cries after she missed out on receiving free food outside Howrah railway station after India ordered a 21-day nationwide lockdown to limit the spread of Covid-19, in Kolkata, India, March 25, 2020. - Reuters

NEW DELHI (The Straits Times/ANN): As India entered a three-week lockdown that started at midnight on Wednesday (March 25), it is facing serious challenges - from ensuring essential groceries and medicines reach people, to encouraging social distancing and helping the poor through a time of wage disruptions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the biggest lockdown in the world, which will essentially keep 1.35 billion people restricted to their homes in a bid to break the Covid-19 transmission chain.