On Monday, troops in Sri Lanka distributed tokens to citizens waiting in line for gasoline due to a severe fuel scarcity caused by the nation’s greatest economic crisis in seven decades. Schools were closed in Colombo and state employees were told to work from home.
With record-low foreign exchange reserves, the 22 million-person island struggles to pay for imports of food, medicine, and, most importantly, fuel.
“I have been in line for four days, I haven’t slept or eaten properly during this period,” claimed 67-year-old autorickshaw driver W.D. Shelton was given a token to retain his place in line until fuel became available.
We can’t earn, we can’t feed our families,” said Shelton, who was 24th in line at a fuel station in the heart of Colombo, but planned to remain there because he lacked the fuel to travel the 5 kilometers to his home.
It was initially unclear how far the government’s gasoline stockpiles might be stretched.
On Sunday, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera stated that diesel and gasoline inventories total approximately 9,000 and 6,000 tonnes, respectively, but that no new deliveries are scheduled.
The government has instructed staff to work from home until further notice, and schools in Colombo and nearby areas have been closed for a week.
Since last week, fuel station lines have steadily expanded.
Shelton stated, “This is a tragedy, and we do not know where it will end.”
Priority will be given to public transportation, electricity generating, and medical services, with some petroleum rationed to ports and airports.
A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is now in Sri Lanka for bailout negotiations.
Although the nation in the Indian Ocean hopes to obtain a staff-level agreement before Thursday, it is unclear that this will release immediate money.
