Coronavirus: With no humans in sight, how India looked on 'janata curfew'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a televised speech on Thursday, had asked people to observe 'janata curfew', a voluntary citizen's curfew in which people were asked to stay at home on March 22. The one-day lockdown was observed keeping in mind the rising number of coronavirus cases in India and around the world.

The number of COVID-19 cases crossed 340 on Sunday, with five confirmed deaths according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Seventy-five districts, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, are on lockdown till March 31. In many parts of the country, Section 144 has been imposed, banning the gathering of more than five people. Bengaluru has imposed Section 144 from 9 pm to 12 am on Sunday so that people don't flood the streets after the nationwide janata curfew ends, while Chennai extended the curfew till 5 am on Monday.

Cities all across India observed the janata curfew, with roads, markets, parks, and other outdoor places being deserted. The Indian Railways cancelled over 3,700 trains while many cities reduced the number of public transport services owing to the curfew.

Here's how cities across India looked on janata curfew:

Delhi

Vishakhapatnam

Kolkata

Mumbai

Navi Mumbai

Bengaluru

Chennai

Goa

Chandigarh

Guwahati

Across the world, the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc with Europe emerging as the new epicentre for the outbreak. Italy saw the highest global one-day death toll since the outbreak began, with close to 800 people reported dead on March 21. The death toll in Spain rose by over 400 while the number of cases increase in Germany, Iran and Spain.

On a positive note, China, where the outbreak first began in Wuhan, reported zero new domestic transmissions for the third consecutive day after many parts of the country was put under total lockdown for weeks.

(Edited by Evelyn Ratnakumar)