While over 1.3 billion people in India remain after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a 21-day lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus, animals, it appears, have reclaimed their space.
A number of videos of animals strolling on roads have surfaced on social media in the last few days. With people staying indoors, cities, roads and highways across the country have been deserted since Wednesday with minimum movement of vehicles.
An undated video from Chandigarh showed a sambar deer taking a zebra crossing on a wide, empty road that divides Sector 9 and Sector 10 in the city.
In northern Kerala's Kozhikode, an unusual sight greeted policemen and the few people on the road. A critically endangered civet took the zebra crossing and casually strolled past them.
Another viral video showed a neelgai trotting freely on an otherwise busy road outside a mall in Noida. On regular days, it is nearly impossible for people to cross the road because of the endless movement of speeding vehicles.
Many city-dwellers have also said they have noticed more birds singing in their neighbourhoods, an activity that would have been drown in the noise of vehicles on other days.
Animal lovers and rights activists have also urged people to continue feeding birds, stray dogs, cats and cattle that largely depend on leftover food that people feed them on the roads.
In multiple tweets, BJP MP Maneka Gandhi said many states have agreed to give passes to animal feeders and those who are evacuating stranded animals from pet shops.
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