Colombo. Sri Lanka’s 36-hour curfew imposed in the wake of political unrest was lifted on Monday and public transport services were restored to normalcy. All public transport including trains, Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) and private buses resumed their services from 6 am on Saturday after the government-imposed curfew was lifted, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.
Railway Deputy General Manager Gamini Seneviratne said all offices, trains were on track as usual, but long distance trains were running late by an hour.
While SLTB said that their buses are plying as per schedule, private bus owners said that only 15 per cent of the existing ones have resumed services.
The development comes in the wake of a political turmoil in the island nation.
Following anti-government protests against the economic crisis, the Sri Lankan cabinet, except Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, resigned en masse on Sunday night.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the prime minister will meet on Monday morning to decide on the future of the government.
However, decisions on resignations of state ministers are yet to be finalised.
Amid growing public protests, several ruling coalition parties had insisted on dissolving the cabinet and forming an interim government with the consent of all parties, including the opposition.
Dollar shortages, mainly due to foreign borrowings, have caused Sri Lanka’s massive economic collapse.
The country was forced to seek financial assistance from neighboring countries mainly for the supply of essential commodities like fuel, electricity, LPG and food.
For months, people have been standing in queues for fuel and LPG, while also facing 13-hour power cuts.
—AnyTV News
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