Diesel was no longer on sale across Sri Lanka on Thursday, crippling transport as the crisis-hit country’s 22 million people suffer record power outages. even the most essential imports. According to officials and media, the main fuel for buses and commercial vehicles was not available at stations on the island, according to officials and media. We take the fuel from the buses that are in the garage for repairs and use that diesel to power the vehicles in working order,” Transport Minister Dilum Amunugama said. Private bus owners representing two-thirds of the countries said they were already without oil and that even “We are still using old diesel stocks, but if we don’t get supplies by tonight it won’t be able to work,” he told AFP. the chairman of the association of private bus operators Gemunu Wijeratne, the state electricity monopoly, said it would be forced to impose a 1 p.m. blackout by Thursday, the longest of all the times, because they had no diesel for the generators”. We are promised new supplies in two days, and if that happens we can shorten the duration of power cuts,” Ceylon Electricity Board chairman Mr Ferdinando told reporters.He said hydroelectric reservoirs, which provide more than a third of electricity demand, were also dangerously low. Prolonged power outages forced the Colombo Stock Exchange to limit trading to half an hour to two hours, while many offices asked non-essential staff to stay home. Electricity rationing has also affected mobile phone base stations and call quality, operators said, adding that their backup generators were also diesel-free. The shortage has sparked outrage across Sri Lanka, with local television reporting protests across the country as hundreds of motorists block major roads in several towns. Several public hospitals have halted surgeries as they run out of essential life-saving drugs, while most have halted diagnostic tests that require imported chemicals that are in short supply. Colombo imposed a sweeping import ban in March 2020 in a bid to save foreign currency needed to service its $51 billion foreign debt. But this has led to widespread shortages of these products and steep price hikes. The government has said it is seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund as it seeks more loans from India and China. Sri Lanka’s plight has been exacerbated by the Covid19 pandemic, which has torpedoed tourism and remittances. Many economists also blame government mismanagement, including tax cuts and years of budget deficits.
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