Sri Lanka runs out of fuel, only essential services to operate from midnight till July 10
World | June 27, 2022 23:55 ISTThese 'essential' services include ports, airports, health, food distribution and agriculture, officials said.
These 'essential' services include ports, airports, health, food distribution and agriculture, officials said.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took office in May, was emphasising the monumental task he faces in turning around an economy he said is heading for “rock bottom.” Sri Lankans are skipping meals as they endure shortages, lining up for hours to try to buy scarce fuel. It's a harsh reality for a country whose economy had been growing quickly, with a growing and comfortable middle class, until the latest crisis deepened.
Sri Lanka is unable to purchase imported fuel, even for cash, due to heavy debts owed by its petroleum corporation.
With its existing fuel stocks fast depleting, Sri Lanka is under intense pressure to get foreign exchange to pay for its imports, which has brought several sectors of the country’s economy to a grinding halt.
The current power crisis in the country, which has also affected Pakistan's economy, has forced the federal cabinet to restore the Saturday holiday in government offices to curb the use of energy and gradually bring down electricity load shedding to two hours a day by the end of June.
Shehbaz Sharif highlighted the difference between economic development in the initial 25 years of Pakistan's creation 75 years back and said that the economic development after that has a "stark" difference.
President Rajapaksa, while speaking with a group of irrigation officials on the next harvesting season's requirements, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him of fertiliser supplies for the next cultivation season.
With long lines for fuel, cooking gas, essentials in short supply and long hours of power cuts, the public has been suffering for months.
Recent media reports have inaccurately stated that the World Bank is planning support for Sri Lanka in the form of a bridge loan or new loan commitments, among other incorrect assertions, the Bank said in a statement.
The economic crisis has also triggered a political crisis in Sri Lanka and a demand for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The crisis has already forced prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the elder brother of the president, to resign on May 9.
The IPEF seeks to strengthen economic partnership amongst participating countries with the objective of enhancing resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness in the Indo-Pacific region besides cooperating on anti-corruption efforts.
Humanitarian aid and essential items worth Rs 2 billion were recently provided by India to Sri Lanka, as the country reels under severe economic crisis.
Sri Lankan Central bank governor P Nandalal Weerasinghe said on Thursday that the country had fallen into a “pre-emptive default” on its debts after the expiry of a 30-day grace period for missed interest payments on two of its sovereign bonds.
Sri Lanka is currently facing an acute shortage of foreign exchange that led to an increase in prices and a shortage of vehicular fuel, cooking gas, food, and thermal fuel for electricity production.
Rahul Gandhi shared a picture comparing graphs of both countries. These graphs showed a similar pattern of increase in unemployment, communal riots, and petrol prices from the years 2017 to 2021.
Sri Lanka is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from Britain in 1948. "I propose that the loss making Sri Lankan Airlines be privatised,” Wickremesinghe said in his first address to the nation.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have pushed debt levels for many countries to alarming levels.
Governor of the bank Nandalal Weerasinghe told reporters that the political unrest derailed the bank's recovery plans, and the resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the prime minister on Monday and the lack of a replacement were complicating matters.
Mahinda Rajapaksa, known for his brutal military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during his presidency from 2005 to 2015, is also facing calls for his arrest from Opposition politicians.
The order came after embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa urged people to stop 'violence and acts of revenge' against fellow citizens and vowed to address the political and economic crisis facing the nation.
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