Sri Lanka Crises: People have been protesting for weeks over long-term power cuts and shortages of gas, food and other basic necessities.
Colombo: Sri Lanka could run out of diesel by the end of this month with a $ 500 million debt extension extended by India over depleted fuel purchases amid unprecedented shortages of foreign reserves.
Sri Lanka has been facing a major economic crisis since independence in the UK in 1948.
People have been protesting for weeks over long-term power outages and shortages of gas, food and other basic necessities.
The public outcry has led almost all Cabinet ministers to resign, as well as a number of lawmakers to leave the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The public anger has prompted nearly all cabinet ministers to quiet, and scores of law makers to leave president Gotabaya Rajapaksa‘s government .
According to officials, petrol shipments to Sri Lanka began arriving in late March due to the urgency of the situation although they are scheduled to start from April 1. Delivery of three more Indians is expected on April 15, 18 and 23 and the venue will be complete. they were tired at the time unless the Sri Lankan government sought expansion in India .
Diesel is widely used in public transport and hydroelectric power plants in the country. The SLMA states that medicines, resources and recycling are in short supply in the health sector. Closure of few thermal power plants due to lack of diesel has already caused power cuts lasting over 10 hours daily .
Sri Lanka beleauguered president has appointed an expert panel to organise a debt restructure to claw the country out of a crippling economic crises that has sparkled huge protests demanding his resignation . Several hotels located in colombo said they have suffered huge losses due to ongoing mass protests in the city .
The country’s only refinery has to be shut down twice in November 2021 , since it was unable to pay for imports . They have stopped surgery to keep resources available in life-threatening emergencies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019%E2%80%93present_Sri_Lankan_economic_crisis
He called for a meeting with the president to discuss the plan for emergencies.
Separately, the garment industry, the Sri Lanka Joint Apparel Association Forum, has also written to Rajapaksa urging interim solutions to the current problem.
It says the shortage of electricity and fuel has led to the closure of small businesses.
Exports of goods, mainly to the US and European Union markets, account for about 6 percent of GDP. Enraged people got into the streets for endless agitations against the government , calling for its resignation for the incompetence
On Thursday night, a group of protesters tried to break through the bars against Temple Trees in Colombo, the prime minister’s office.
The government has accused the public protests of being politically motivated and has accused the opposition party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, of plotting.
Despite the announcement of the emergency and the time to get home over the weekend, people joined the protests demanding Rajapaksa’s resignation. Protesters even blocked roads leading to Parliament.
On Tuesday night the president withdrew an emergency after major public protests demanded his resignation.
He and his older brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, continue to hold sway in Sri Lanka, despite the fact that their powerful political family is focused on public outrage.
Meanwhile , the sri lanka medical association (SLMA) has warned President Rajaspaksa about the shortage of even most essential medicines in the island nation due to the forex related economic crises . https://diurnalnews.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=2607&action=edit
India in February extended a $ 500 million debt line to Sri Lanka to finance the country’s oil purchases, as the island nation struggles to overcome its worst financial and power crisis for decades.
