Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - On Monday, troops in Sri Lanka gave tokens to people waiting in line for gas. The country is in the midd...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - On Monday, troops in Sri Lanka gave tokens to people waiting in line for gas. The country is in the middle of its worst economic crisis in seven decades, and there is a severe shortage of gas. Schools in Colombo were closed, and public employees were told to work from home.
With a record low amount of foreign exchange reserves, the island of 22 million people is struggling to pay for imports of food, medicine, and, most importantly, fuel.
"I've been waiting in line for four days, and I haven't slept or eaten well during that time," said W.D. Shelton, a 67-year-old autorickshaw driver. He was given a token to hold his place in line until fuel became available.
"We can't work, and we can't feed our families," said Shelton, who was 24th in line at a gas station in the middle of Colombo but was going to stay there because he didn't have enough gas to get home, which was only 5 km (3 miles) away.
It wasn't clear right away how far the government could go with the fuel it had on hand.
Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said on Sunday that there are about 9,000 tonnes of diesel and 6,000 tonnes of gasoline in stock, but no new shipments are coming.
Employees have been told to work from home until further notice, and schools in Colombo, the country's commercial capital, and the areas around it have been closed for a week.
Since last week, the lines at gas stations have grown quickly.
Shelton said, "This is a tragedy, and we don't know how it will end."
Fuel will be given to hospitals, public transportation, and power plants first. Ports and airports will also get a certain amount.
A group from the International Monetary Fund is in Sri Lanka to talk about a bailout package worth $3 billion.
The country in the Indian Ocean hopes to reach a staff-level agreement before the visit ends on Thursday, but that is not likely to free up money right away.
