The situation in Sri Lanka is going from bad to worse. People expressing their displeasure against the government have come out on the streets. At the same time, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has also declared a state of emergency in view of the seriousness of the situation. Actually, this entire crisis has arisen due to the economic condition of the country. There is so much despair among the countrymen that on one hand some people are fleeing to Tamil Nadu. At the same time, some are barely making a living. It has come to such an extent that people are not getting even basic medicines.
According to the Indian Express, 31-year-old school teacher Vani Susai says that the signs of economic crisis started showing in the last week of January. He said, ‘That Sunday morning my house ran out of gas. I called the agency to inquire about the cylinder and I was told that they would not be able to deliver it for several days. I started going to the shops in search of cylinders. Finally a cylinder was found after three hours.
She says that after two months the supply of cooking gas stops once a week and everyone gets it by queuing on Sundays. This queue starts forming at 4 in the morning. He said that they give 300 tokens at a time to a line of more than 1000 thousand people. Susai’s husband works in the Gulf country. “If given a chance, she will leave,” he says.
Susai says that the family of three includes her mother, child and she herself and the required expenditure is 30 thousand Sri Lankan rupees per month. She said, ‘But this month I have already spent Rs 83 thousand. There is a shortage of milk powder here. There is a struggle for rice and pulses. There is a power cut for 7 hours, but there is no candle. The 12 tablet paracetamol strip costs Rs 420 and many medicines have gone missing. My salary is Rs 55000 and we manage with the money sent by my husband, but can we eat the money?’
not a sad story
Dr Samanta Kumara, a dental surgeon in Kurunegala, tells that his son is studying in Australia, but they are unable to send him money. Rahman Taslim, who worked as a taxi driver, has now started working as a carpenter. They are wondering whether India will give them shelter or not or they should try to go to Dubai. Tasleem, who changed his job five times in the last three years, is also struggling to run the job.
United National Party leader and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has warned that this crisis could last for five years. They question the policies of the Rajapaksa government and say that it has shaken investor confidence. Milind Rajapakse, Additional Director General of the Ministry of Information, says that they are dependent on the credit lines of India and China.