New Delhi,  Amid the lockdown due to the coronavirus epidemic, the Congress is trying to reach out to the poor and the needy and has started the 'Congress ki Rasoi' to feed them.

It has set up a control room in Delhi to monitor the humanitarian efforts and pitched in all its supporting organisation for the endeavour.

Delhi Congress Chief Anil Chaudhary said all state units had launched the 'Congress ki Rasoi'. In Delhi, 167 community kitchens had been set up to serve the people in distress, he added.

Sandeep Dikshit, former East Delhi MP, who has been distributing masks and urging party workers to help the poor, said, "It's a challenge that we have got to face together. The Congress supporters are also making individual efforts to help others."

The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) has turned its headquarters into a community kitchen and has installed a roti (flat bread) making machine.

"Since the day one of the lockdown, the IYC has been striving to help the poor and the workers, stranded in the country, by providing relief materials, starting 24X7 community kitchen and donating blood for meeting the emergency requirements," said IYC chief Srinivas B.V.

IYC National Media Coordinator Amrish Ranjan Pandey said, "The IYC urges fellow citizens to join hands to help meet the needs of our poor and needy brethren."

Apart from the Congress frontal organisations, others too are trying to help in this time of crisis. The Rahul Priyanka Sena, not an official organisation, headed by Jagdish Sharma, has been distributing food.

"I am Congress soldier and every soldier is working for the country. My organisation is distributing food in states like, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttrakhand," he said.

Among the common Congress sympathisers are people like Azhar Hasan, an engineering student, who is distributing "ration packets" in Okhla under the name of his society -- New Way. He has collected funds for it by using social media platforms.

The pandemic has also helped local politicians connect with the people. Okhla block Congress chief Parvez Alam Khan, who distributed masks during the 21-day lockout, is now helping in sanitising the area with the help of locals.

On Thursday, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi assured the people not be scared of the pandemic.

"You might be feeling that it's a very scary experience. We have never been locked up in our houses. I want you to know that this country is bigger than any disease. This country knows how to deal with much bigger challenges than the one we are facing.

"I want you to think about this with a sense of confidence. If we are able to overcome this, it will put us actually in a much better place," said Rahul Gandhi.