From lockdown to plight of migrant workers: 2020, the year of pandemic

It was a year marked by loss. The pandemic exacted a heavy toll, devastated the economy and upended every aspect of life. Here's a look at what we weathered and how we adapted to change...

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Millions of factory workers were rendered homeless and jobless after the lockdown shuttered businesses overnight. Stranded without food or water, they began to flee cities, turning the lockdown into a humanitarian crisis.

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India came to a screeching halt in March as the government imposed the strictest lockdown anywhere in the world. Places that would normally be bustling with people and traffic became virtually empty.

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The intense focus yielded in a breakthrough in a record-breaking time of less than a year. By December, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were approved for use in the US and UK. Affordable vaccines by India's Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute are also being readied for roll-out soon.

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Early on in the coronavirus outbreak, contact tracing became a vital tool in India's efforts to rein in the virus.

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As the lockdown closed all public transport, millions were driven to walk back to their villages hundreds of kilometres away. It was one of the biggest migrations in modern India.

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From bakery shops to ride-hailing companies, plastic sheets were put up to guard against the coronavirus and prevent infections.

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Many ambulance workers got infected while ferrying coronavirus patients during the pandemic.

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As the virus spread rapidly throughout the country, stadiums, hotels and train coaches were hurriedly turned into makeshift hospitals.