2 Major Sri Lankan Newspapers Suspend Print Editions Due To Shortage Of Paper Amid Crisis

Nearly a week after Sri Lanka indefinitely postponed the exams for nearly three million school students amid a shortage of printing paper and ink, two major Sri Lankan newspapers are suspending their print editions due to the same reason.

Amid dwindling forex reserves, the crisis-hit island nation of 22 million people is facing its worst economic meltdown since independence from Britain in 1948.

On Friday, privately owned Upali Newspapers said their English-language daily, The Island, and its sister Sinhalese version, Divaina, will only be available online ¡°in view of the prevailing newsprint shortage¡±, as per a report in Al Jazeera.

Other main national dailies have also reportedly reduced pages after costs soared by more than a third in the past five months and because of difficulties securing supplies from abroad.

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The dollar shortage, caused primarily by the crippling tourism sector due to the pandemic, has resulted in energy shortages affecting all sectors, besides skyrocketing the prices with inflation at a record 17.5% in February 2022, the fifth consecutive monthly high, as per Al Jazeera.

And that's not all. Few people have also lost their lives in Sri Lanka while standing in long queues for fuel and other necessities.

Meanwhile, the energy ministry officials said they managed to raise $42m by Friday to pay for a cargo of diesel and aviation fuel, held up at the Colombo port for nearly two weeks due to a shortage of dollars to pay for it.

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Desperate Measures Amid Debt & Crisis

Earlier this month, the Sri Lankan government had even allowed its currency Rupee to depreciate in order to attract investments and remittances. The government had also announced that it will seek an IMF bailout to restructure its foreign debt. And in previous months of 2022, Sri Lanka had asked its expats to send money home for aid, since necessities are becoming out of reach for the citizens of the island nation.

For the uninitiated, crisis-hit Sri Lanka needs nearly $7bn to service its external debt this year, while the country¡¯s foreign reserves have hit rock bottom, falling to $2.3bn, vs $7.5bn when the current Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa led government came to power in November 2019.

Also Read: How Sri Lanka's Economic Crisis Has Led To Used Cars Costing More Than A Luxury Flat

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