A photo essay by SL Shanth Kumar and the pictures are edited by Sailesh Andrade

The Indian government announced a Nation wide lock down in its fight against the COVID19 pandemic leaving millions of daily workers with no income and no food. Although Prime Minister Modi was quick to announce a relief package and set up a fund the effect has not yet reached the needy.

The task to feed these people has now fallen upon the community and voluntary organizations with no government support to feed people in 'soup kitchens'.

Photojournalist SL Shanth Kumar traveled around the city documenting these soup kitchens.

The strict quarantine measures have, however, created another problem – widespread hunger. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that millions of poor rural Indians were working in cities when the lockdown was announced and all public transport shut down, leaving them stranded far from home often with no food, money or shelter.

All 28 states of India had money in their disaster response funds from the center that would buy food, healthcare and shelter for migrants, wherever they were.

Many are self-employed: the workers who push carts, sell tea in kiosks, drive auto rickshaws, work at home stitching garments or polish diamonds in tiny workshops.

70% of workers outside of farming have no written job contracts, and about half are ineligible for paid leave or social security.