Modi under pressure to impose lockdown amid Indian virus surge

The body of a COVID-19 victim is wheeled into a converted crematorium in New Delhi (AP)

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is facing growing pressure to impose a nationwide lockdown amid a coronavirus surge as experts ponder the effectiveness of restrictions imposed by individual states.

Many medical chiefs, opposition leaders and some of the supreme court judges have suggested the lockdown seems to be the only option with the virus raging in cities and towns, where hospitals are forced to turn patients away while relatives scramble to find oxygen.