Revisiting the Tragedies of India's Covid Lockdown: BBC Journalists Share Their Experiences

As India marks five years since its initial Covid lockdown, BBC journalists share their harrowing experiences reporting on the chaos and tragedies that emerged. From desperate pleas for oxygen to families torn apart, their recollections encapsulate the challenges faced by a nation grappling with the pandemic's dire consequences.

On March 24, 2020, India entered a strict Covid lockdown at the onset of a pandemic that would profoundly impact its healthcare system and society. With the World Health Organization estimating over 4.7 million Covid-related deaths in India—far exceeding the official count—BBC journalists reflect on their roles as storytellers during this tumultuous time.

Soutik Biswas recalls the anxiety of fielding desperate SOS calls, like that of a Delhi school teacher whose husband was battling Covid and gasping for breath. The dire scarcity of oxygen amidst a raging second wave made basic medical supplies a life-or-death commodity. Biswas describes how a medical device's procurement turned into a fleeting triumph in a landscape filled with loss: “Oxygen was a commodity. People were dying because they couldn't breathe, and the city choked on its own apathy.”

Yogita Limaye relays emotional encounters outside hospitals, capturing families in despair as loved ones awaited admission. “I will never forget her cry,” she recounts, recalling the pulse of anguish echoing through the streets of Delhi as hospitals struggled within a broken system. Limaye witnessed the horrifying sight of funeral pyres burning under the sweltering sun, marking a grim reality felt across the nation as Covid overran lives and health care institutions.

In a personal account, Vikas Pandey shares not only the professional challenges but the emotional toll the reporting took on him. Friends and relatives constantly sought his help procuring lifesaving resources. Each story published felt intertwined with his lived experience. Pandey reflects on a pregnant woman who lost her husband and later herself after their battle with the virus, an emblematic reminder of the toll the pandemic took on countless families.

Geeta Pandey gives voice to the distress of the millions left stranded by the lockdown. She remembers the heartbreaking sights at Delhi's bus station, filled with people desperately attempting to return home. “We feared stepping out and we feared staying in,” she says, expressing the invasive uncertainty that loomed over everyone’s lives, a sentiment shared broadly across the country.

Anagha Pathak captures the plight of migrant workers as they journeyed home during the lockdown, highlighting an unforgettable encounter with a pregnant woman and her husband. “I had never felt more helpless,” she narrates, illustrating the struggle as people were left to fend for themselves amid restrictive protocols, and the memories of these encounters have lingered with her ever since.

As India reflects on the five years since the pandemic's onset, these journalist narratives stand as poignant reminders of the individual and collective tragedies that unfolded in a nation under siege. The stories illustrate not just a public health crisis, but the personal lives woven into the larger tapestry of a society grappling with despair and loss.