[The Guardian] Overcome by anxiety: Indians in lockdown many can ill afford

Overcome by anxiety: Indians in lockdown many can ill afford

There are fears measures will be unenforceable and that India’s health system could collapse

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An eerie quiet had descended over a city usually overflowing with chaos on Wednesday morning. As Delhi residents woke on the first day of a three-week nationwide lockdown imposed on India’s population of 1.3 billion people in an attempt to halt the spread of the coronavirus, it was to a capital that was a ghost of its former self.

Gone was the wall-to-wall traffic, the overcrowded alleyway fruit and vegetable markets, the auto-rickshaws, the chai wallahs, the chaat stalls, the bicycles piled high with wicker baskets and the overcrowded temples, mosques and gurdwaras. Highways were empty and roads lined with police and paramilitary officers and checkpoints. Chalk circles were drawn on the ground outside grocery shops and hospitals for people queuing to stand in to ensure they kept a healthy distance apart.

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