Hundreds of people in India flee cities before lockdown

Hundreds of people in India flee cities before lockdown

This sobering video shows hundreds of people packed on to a train station platform in a bid to escape the cities before lockdown in India.The footage shows would-be passengers shoulder to shoulder waiting to get a spot on a train out the city, just after midnight yesterday (26),The video was taken from a train passing through Surat station, Gujarat, by passenger Satish Gadhvi, 33, a shop manager.He said people are rushing to get home ahead of a predicted second lockdown, which could lave them stranded, to walk hundreds of miles home.People are flocking home from the big towns where they stay for work to be with family in the villages they send their money back to, he said.This comes as a second wave of Covid-19 is sweeping through India, generating world record numbers of deaths over the last week.His partner Debbie Styles, 58, from London, said: "My partner was on a fast train from Goa to Gujarat that didn't stop at that station."He lives in India and has never seen it like that before."He felt really scared, and said 'I can't believe this'"He was in shock."He thinks there were around 500 people on the platform, all trying to get home because they are frightened Gujarat state will be locked down again."They will all pile into the first available train."Those trains are cramped, and when everyone gets on they are just brimming, and there's no social distancing."Everyone just pushes until the last person can be fitted on."Just imagine the consequences of that at the moment."India's first lockdown in March 2020  was imposed immediately, leaving these people to make their own way home on foot. "Everything was closed without warning, even the borders, so nobody was able to travel anywhere."If there is another lockdown these people will have to make their long journey home on foot, again."Also, there is no support for these people."If they can't work they can't eat."I really don't know how they will survive, and there are so many."My heart goes out to them."We really don't know how lucky we are in this country."

This sobering video shows hundreds of people packed on to a train station platform in a bid to escape the cities before lockdown in India.The footage shows would-be passengers shoulder to shoulder waiting to get a spot on a train out the city, just after midnight yesterday (26),The video was taken from a train passing through Surat station, Gujarat, by passenger Satish Gadhvi, 33, a shop manager.He said people are rushing to get home ahead of a predicted second lockdown, which could lave them stranded, to walk hundreds of miles home.People are flocking home from the big towns where they stay for work to be with family in the villages they send their money back to, he said.This comes as a second wave of Covid-19 is sweeping through India, generating world record numbers of deaths over the last week.His partner Debbie Styles, 58, from London, said: "My partner was on a fast train from Goa to Gujarat that didn't stop at that station."He lives in India and has never seen it like that before."He felt really scared, and said 'I can't believe this'"He was in shock."He thinks there were around 500 people on the platform, all trying to get home because they are frightened Gujarat state will be locked down again."They will all pile into the first available train."Those trains are cramped, and when everyone gets on they are just brimming, and there's no social distancing."Everyone just pushes until the last person can be fitted on."Just imagine the consequences of that at the moment."India's first lockdown in March 2020  was imposed immediately, leaving these people to make their own way home on foot.

"Everything was closed without warning, even the borders, so nobody was able to travel anywhere."If there is another lockdown these people will have to make their long journey home on foot, again."Also, there is no support for these people."If they can't work they can't eat."I really don't know how they will survive, and there are so many."My heart goes out to them."We really don't know how lucky we are in this country."