Thousands of Sri Lankans are standing in queues to get food, medicine and fuel as the economic crisis in the country spirals out of control with strong protests emerging against the government all across the country.
“At the moment, we don’t have any gas, petrol or kerosene oil. There are no medicines. I am 69 but this is the first time in my life that I have seen something like this happening,” said a 69-year-old man named Thomos from Colombo.
“We are not able to manage. There is no money and salaries. If we have money, there are no goods. When we go to some shops in Colombo, they say there’s no dal, no rice, no bread. Or one pound of bread costs 100 Sri Lankan rupees. One cup of tea costs 100 Sri Lankan rupees. The prices of important things have gone up.” He added.
The heavily import-reliant Sri Lanka is now deprived of enough dollar reserves to buy essential items like food, fuel to power vehicles, or even generate electricity.
People have been suffering power cuts of up to 13 hours, massive inflation and a shortage of food and basic goods.
For months now, a huge number of citizens are in long lines under the hot sun for fuel, cooking gas, food and medicine amid the country’s worst economic crisis since independence in 1948.
People Demanding President Rajapaksa’s Resignation:
The lengthy power cuts and shortages of gas, food, and other basic goods have now triggered an outburst of protests on the streets across the island asking the President for resignation.
However, the government’s whip has defied the calls for resignation from the public as well as the opposition parties saying the beleaguered president will not be resigning.
“As a responsible Government, we state President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will not resign from his post under any circumstances”, said the Chief Government Whip Johnston Fernando on Wednesday while talking to the parliamentarians.