In a desperate attempt to deal with a catastrophic shortage, Sri Lanka will close schools and limit gasoline supplies to essential services such as health, railways, and buses for two weeks beginning Tuesday, according to a minister.
The country is in the grip of its worst economic crisis, with foreign exchange reserves at an all-time low and the island of 22 million people struggling to pay for key imports such as food, medicine, and, most importantly, fuel.
Garments, a major revenue generator in the Indian Ocean nation, are only equipped with fuel for roughly a week to ten days. According to local news calculations, the country’s current inventories will be depleted in just under a week based on regular demand.
On June 27, people demonstrated in Colombo against growing living costs in the midst of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis. Getty Images/NurPhoto From Tuesday until July 10, Sri Lanka will give fuel solely to trains and buses, medical services, and vehicles transporting food, according to Bandula Gunewardena, the government cabinet’s spokesman.
Schools in urban areas will be shut and everyone is urged to work from home, he said. Inter-provincial bus service will be limited.
“Sri Lanka has never faced such a severe economic crisis in its history,” Gunewardena said.
Autorickshaw driver W. D. Shelton, 67, said he had waited in line for four days for fuel.
