Two Sri Lankan men die while waiting in long queues for fuel amid acute price crisis
Sri Lankan police announced today, Sunday, that two men collapsed and died while waiting in long lines to secure their fuel needs, amid a sharp rise in prices that led to record inflation in the country.
Police spokesman Nalin Teldwa said in the commercial capital Colombo that the two men, in their 70s, died while waiting for gasoline and kerosene oil, in different parts of the country, according to Reuters.
Taldwa indicated that one of the two men was a driver, aged 70, and had diabetes and heart disease, while the other was 72 years old, both of whom had been waiting in line for 4 hours to get fuel.
The head of the General Petroleum Employees’ Union, Ashoka Ranola, said that Sri Lanka on Sunday suspended operations at its only fuel refinery, after crude oil stocks were depleted.
For weeks, people in Sri Lanka have been queuing at fuel pumps, often for hours, and the country has been experiencing frequent power cuts.
The use of kerosene oil has increased in Sri Lanka, after low-income families began to move away from cooking gas, as a result of higher prices.
Sri Lanka is struggling to find dollars to pay for fuel shipments, which have become increasingly expensive since January, with its foreign exchange reserves dropping to $2.31 billion last month.
The latest government data showed Sri Lanka’s February inflation rate of 15.1 percent, among the highest in Asia, with food inflation rising to 25.7 percent.
Earlier this month, Sri Lanka’s central bank floated the rupee, causing the currency to drop more than 30 percent, to trade at around 275 rupees per US dollar.
For weeks, people in Sri Lanka have been queuing at fuel pumps, often for hours, and the country has been experiencing frequent power cuts.
The use of kerosene oil has increased in Sri Lanka, after low-income families began to move away from cooking gas, as a result of higher prices.
Sri Lanka is struggling to find dollars to pay for fuel shipments, which have become increasingly expensive since January, with its foreign exchange reserves dropping to $2.31 billion last month.
The latest government data showed Sri Lanka’s February inflation rate of 15.1 percent, among the highest in Asia, with food inflation rising to 25.7 percent.
Earlier this month, Sri Lanka’s central bank floated the rupee, causing the currency to drop more than 30 percent, to trade at around 275 rupees per US dollar.
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