As the economic crisis in Sri Lanka spirals out of control, 69-year-old Thomos from Colombo told India Today that petrol is unavailable, medicines are difficult to find and essential food items are being sold at extremely high prices in 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,” Thomos said.

He added, “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.”

Further, long power cuts in Sri Lanka have affected the communication networks in the country.

ECONOMIC CRISIS IN SRI LANKA

• With huge debt obligations and dwindling foreign reserves, Sri Lanka has found itself unable to pay for imports, leading to shortages of several goods including fuel.
• Sri Lanka’s economic woes are blamed on successive governments not diversifying exports and relying on traditional cash sources like tea, garments and tourism, and on a culture of consuming imported goods.
• The Covid-19 pandemic dealt a heavy blow to Sri Lanka’s economy, with the government estimating a loss of $14 billion in the last two years.

PROTESTS

• To protest against the economic crisis, Sri Lankans have taken to the streets.
• On Friday, angry protesters demonstrated near President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s home and demanded he resign. The protests turned violent – two army buses were stoned and one was set on fire. The police fired tear gas and a water cannon and arrested 54 people.
• He declared a state of emergency in the island nation on Saturday.

(With inputs from agencies)