Bangladesh street kitchens battle to keep free food on the menu

A rickshaw puller eating food distributed by Mehmankhana, a non-profit organisation in Dhaka. Photos: Munir Uz zaman/AFP

Mohammad Masud braves Dhaka's sweltering summer heat to pedal across the Bangladeshi capital in his rickshaw and queue at one of the last charities still feeding those left destitute by the pandemic.

Nearby are hundreds of out-of-work or struggling security guards, transport workers, domestic servants and homeless children finishing their plates of rice and lentils at Mehmankhana, or the "dining place for guests".