Google news Sri lanka today - Crisis-hit Sri Lanka runs out of fuel

Google news Sri lanka today - Crisis-hit Sri Lanka runs out of fuel

Colombo residers stayed home on Thursday, unfit to reach work or drive their children to academy, as extremity- hit Sri Lanka ran out of energy.

The islet nation of 22 million people has defaulted on its debt as it struggles with its worst fiscal extremity in further than 70 times.The country’s grace period to repay$ 78 million of overdue interest payments expired on Wednesday.Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took office last week, said on Monday that Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves had fallen to nearly nothing and the country urgently demanded$ 75 million in foreign exchange to pay for essential significances.

With no plutocrat coming, energy vessels remained anchored offshore, their loadings out of reach.

Gas pumps have since gone dry, leaving numerous queuing in the stopgap of refueling their vehicles.

“ When you have no choice, what to do?” said Chamin Tilakkumara, whose three-wheeler has been situated in a line on Flower Road in an rich part of Colombo for two days.

“ I've six mouths to feed back at home, so if I do n’t do this how will we manage?”

Milani Perera, another Colombo occupant, told  News that she plodded to return home later much of the megacity’s public transport came to a halt.

“ I stood for over an hour in the rain with two small children and no way to go home,” she said. “ I was weeping when a complete foreigner decided to give us a lift near my home. I was so thankful, but I do n’t want to go out again.”

Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera told Parliament on Thursday that energy won't be available for at least another many days.

The Education Ministry has since suspended seminaries.

Sri Lanka is facing a deficit not only of energy, but also food and drugs, as its budget deficiency climbs to$6.8 billion, or 13 percent of gross domestic product.

The extremity has started wide demonstrations across the country since March, with protesters demanding the abdication of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, the chairman’s elder family, quit as high minister last week, after clashes between government sympathizers and protesters left nine people dead and nearly 300 injured