Indian police fired tear gas to scatter migrant workers during clashes in the western state of Gujarat, officials said, as authorities relaxed one of the world's strictest lockdowns to stem the spread of the coronavirus, Reuters reported.

About 1,000 stranded workers seeking help to return to homes in states across India gathered on the outskirts of the industrial and diamond processing city of Surat, but threw stones at police who ordered them to break up, an official said.

“Police fired tear gas shells to disperse protesters,” a police official in Kadodara, near the site of the clash, told Reuters, seeking anonymity as he was not authorised to speak with media.