"India: COVID-19 Lockdown Puts Poor at Risk", 27 March 2020

Indian authorities need to urgently adopt measures to protect the country’s poorest and most vulnerable people if COVID-19 containment and relief measures prove inadequate, Human Rights Watch said today. On March 24, 2020, the government announced a three-week nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country.

The lockdown has already disproportionately hurt marginalized communities due to loss of livelihood and lack of food, shelter, health, and other basic needs. The government does have a responsibility to protect the health and well-being of the population, but some of these steps have left tens of thousands of out-of-work migrant workers stranded, with rail and bus services shut down...

With more than 80 percent of India’s workforce employed in the informal sector, and one-third working as casual laborers, it is crucial that the authorities make use of maximum available resources to ensure the delivery of services...

...The authorities should immediately order the police to act with restraint while enforcing the lockdown...

...Police have targeted daily wage workers, such as vegetable and fruit vendors, milk sellers, auto rickshaw and taxi drivers, and others delivering essential goods. Police have also allegedly harassed doctors and health workers...

In Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu, health workers and airline staff faced discrimination from their neighbors and landlords threatened to evict them, fearing they could be carriers of COVID-19...