A major government work scheme in India has been questioned for their ability to maintain social distancing for the thousands of labourers it employs. <br /><br />Work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) commenced in western India's Gujarat state, following a relaxation of the state's lockdown policies during the COVID-19 outbreak.<br /><br />Drone footage from the town of Una in Gir Somnath district, Saurashtra shows hundreds of labourers working on May 22.<br /><br />However, there are no hand sanitizers in place to prevent further coronavirus spread or official spacing guidelines to reduce worker contact.<br /><br />The MGNREGA programs were organised to help restart the Indian economy, that was severely impacted by the national lockdown. <br /><br />Gujarat Chief Minister has announced a slew of relaxations for the state for the lockdown in the fourth stage with significant relaxations in-state operations to boost the economy and transport systems. <br /><br />At time of reporting, there are 12,905 confirmed cases in Gujarat with 368 new coronavirus cases reported in the past 24 hours, according to the official data.
