Sri Lanka crisis: Petrol distribution to resume on May 19; public asked not to queue up

A day after Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe urged Sri Lankans not to join the long queues outside gas stations as the cash-strapped nation has run out of petrol stock, the country's Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has now requested the public not to queue up for petrol on May 18 unless essential, as supplies will be limited. As per the news agency NewsWire, normal distribution of petrol will resume on Thursday, May 19, and diesel will be available in fuel stations from Wednesday, May 18. 

On May 16, while addressing the nation, PM Wickremesinghe revealed that the island country only has petrol for "one day". He also informed that the crisis-ridden island requires at least $75 million in foreign exchange to make essential purchases.

This happened after Colombo was unable to raise dollars to secure three shipments of oil waiting outside Sri Lankan harbour. The payment is mandatory before discharging the cargoes. However, he said that India will send two shipments of petrol and two of diesel under the Indian line of credit.

Sri Lanka crisis

It is pertinent to mention here that the island nation has been experiencing its worst economic crisis in history. The country has huge debt obligations and dwindling foreign reserves, and has been struggling to pay for imports, causing a shortage of essentials. Citizens were forced to stand in long lines for fuel, cooking gas, and medicines. The citizens who have been struggling to manage their expenses were continuously protesting against the government. Earlier last week, the violent protesters burnt the ancestral residence of the Rajapaksa clan in Hambantota after which Mahinda Rajapaksa stepped down from the chair of Prime Minister. Apart from setting fire to the properties owned by the top leadership in Sri Lanka, protesters had also burnt down several properties of ministers and lawmakers of the ruling coalition. 

Image: AP, Unsplash