The Economic Crisis In Sri Lanka Is So Bad That Soldiers Are Now Guarding Fuel Stations

The unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka is only getting worse and every passing day common people are struggling to even find food and other basic needs.

Across the island, electricity blackouts are frequent and essential goods such as food and cooking gas are also in short supply, leading to further tensions.

AFP

On Tuesday, Sri Lanka deployed soldiers at petroleum and gas stations after protests erupted among the thousands of motorists queueing up to buy fuel.

On Monday, a dispute between two men on their position in the queue at a fuel station had resulted in the death of one of them.

Soldiers were deployed after angry crowds blocked a main artery in Colombo and held up traffic for hours because they were unable to buy kerosene oil on Monday, government spokesman Ramesh Pathirana said.

AFP

Military spokesman Nilantha Premaratne told Reuters at least two army personnel would be stationed at every fuel pump to help organise fuel distribution, but the soldiers would not be involved in crowd control.

Footage of the incident shared on social media showed a group of angry women blockading a tourist coach to protest shortages of kerosene needed for cooking stoves.

AFP

"We saw tourists being held up, we are also hearing that some people may be hoarding oil and that is why the government decided to deploy the military," Pathirana said.

In three separate incidents, three elderly people dropped dead during their wait in long queues to buy fuel.

The rapid drain of Sri Lanka's dollars has left it struggling to pay for critical imports as currency reserves have slumped 70% in the last two years to $2.31 billion.

AFP

Amid the continuing crisis, there are also reports that many are trying to flee the island nation.

At least 16 Sri Lankans on two boats have arrived in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday.

While six people, including a family of a man, wife and their 4 month-old son and a woman and her six and twelve-year-old children arrived on Tuesday afternoon, the rest arrived late at night.

Reuters

The refugees, who are Sri Lankan Tamils, said that they had paid an amount of Rs 50,000 to a boatman who had dropped them at a sand dune near Rameswaram on Tuesday early morning and was later rescued by the Indian coast guard.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's main opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya on Tuesday accused President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government of misusing the $ 1 billion loan extended by India to help the island nation deal with its economic crisis.

¡°This is shameful¡­ money is meant to provide relief to people languishing in long queues," main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said, referring to long lines at fuel stations and scarcity of essentials faced by the people.

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