In pictures: The great Indian migration

Migrants collect food packets after arriving by a special train at Prayagraj Junction, during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the coronavirus, in Prayagraj. India partly relaxed its lockdown this week.

Migrants undergo thermal screening before boarding a special train for Azamgarh at a railway station, in Jalandhar. India is running train service for thousands of migrant workers desperate to return home since it imposed a nationwide lockdown to control the spread of the coronavirus.

Migrant workers being screened before they board a special train for Gonda in Uttar Pradesh, during ongoing COVID-19 lockdown, in Amritsar.

Migrants from Bhuj undergo thermal screening after arriving by a special train at Prayagraj Railway junction.

A medic puts a mark on a girl's arm as migrants wait to board busses for Rajasthan at Jhakarkati Bus stand, during the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown, in Kanpur.

Migrant laborers and their family members, who arrived from Gujarat state on a train, wave from inside a bus as they prepare to leave for their native villages in their home state of Uttar Pradesh in Prayagraj.

Stranded migrant workers wait to get their names and medical certificates verified to board a train for Madhaya Pradesh at a camp in New Delhi.

Migrant laborers, who arrived from Gujarat state on a train, rest before processding for their native villages in their home state of Uttar Pradesh in Prayagraj.

An Indian health worker checks the temperature of a man who had been stranded for weeks due to the lockdown to curb the spread of new coronavirus before allowing him to board a bus, in Bangalore. India partly relaxed its lockdown this week.

Migrant laborers from Gujarat state step out of a train after arriving in their home state in Prayagraj.