Police constable walks 450 km from Kanpur to Jabalpur to join duty amid COVID-19 lockdown

Police personnel are working round the clock for a strict imposition of lockdown and stay-at-home guidelines across the world to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. An Indian police constable walked around 450 kilometres from Kanpur to Jabalpur to join the duty as public transports remain shut during the lockdown.

Constable Anant Pandey reportedly went for a home visit on February 20 to look after his wife who was ill. Pandey spent a month there and was set to return, but the sudden announcement of a nationwide lockdown prevented him from joining the duty. Finally, the constable decided to start walking towards his destination and reportedly left for Jabalpur on March 30.

Pandey, who is posted at the Ghantaghar Chowk in Jabalpur, walked for hours and took lifts whenever he could from a few passersby. He completed his journey within three days and joined his duty immediately which was appreciated by the entire staff of Omati police station. 

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India is going through a 21-day lockdown ending on April 14 but an extension is expected to be announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday following the consultation with several state leaders. PM Modi held a video conference with chief ministers primarily to take their feedback on whether the 21-day nationwide lockdown should be extended beyond April 14 to stem the tide of the infections.

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Rising cases across the world

India has reported over 9100 coronavirus cases so far and 308 people have succumbed to the infection, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. States like Maharashtra and West Bengal have already announced the extension of the lockdown. 

According to the latest report, over 1.8 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide with more than 114,800 deaths, overwhelming the health care facilities across the globe. The United States, Italy, Spain and France are the worst-hit countries due to the pandemic with over 64 per cent of death toll reported from these four countries alone.

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(With agency inputs | Representational Image: AP)