Indian government faces calls for national lockdown

A rickshaw puller rests along a street in the old quarters of New Delhi on Wednesday as India's capital continues a lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

India's government faced calls for a strict lockdown across the country to slow a devastating surge in new coronavirus cases.

The latest wave of infections since April has pushed India's healthcare to the brink with people begging for oxygen cylinders and hospital beds on social media and news channels.

Bodies have been piling up at cremation grounds and in graveyards with relatives waiting for hours for the last rites.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is reluctant to impose a national lockdown for fear of the economic fallout. Mr Modi said last month that it should be the last resort.

But nearly a dozen states have imposed curbs on their own.

The most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, with 200 million people, implemented a five-day lockdown this week.

The country's second and third-most populated states of Maharashtra and Bihar are also under lockdown with varying curbs.

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