New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury criticised the Centre on Friday, saying it announced the nationwide lockdown "abruptly" that has led to an exodus of migrant workers to their home states and now it cannot "deflect" its responsibilities to the states.

The has Centre asked states to take steps to prevent the exodus as migrant workers, hit by the lockdown, gathered in thousands on the Delhi border in a desperate bid to reach their homes in UP.

The exodus has triggered concerns that the virus outbreak could turn into a humanitarian crisis.

"The Centre has obviously not thought through the lockdown, which has been announced abruptly. The biggest uprooting of lives of India's most marginalised must be prevented by the Centre. Transport them to safety: cannot simply deflect responsibility to states," Yechury said.

"Lakhs are already on the roads having left their worklplace. Centre must establish camps with assured food supplies of food and other needs. Or, arrange transportation to their homes. Unless done we cannot contain community spread of COVID-19."

The death toll due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, rose to 17 in the country on Friday and the number of infected cases climbed to 724, according to the Health Ministry.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)