Sri Lanka Economic Crisis Latest Update: The economic crisis deepened further in Sri Lanka as the country on Monday ran out of fuel completely. Taking measures, the Sri Lankan government allowed only essential services to operate till July 10. The list of essential services include health, law and order, ports, airport, food distribution and agriculture. However, the non-essential services have been suspended till July 10.
“From midnight today, no fuel will be sold except for essential services like the health sector, because we want to conserve the little reserves we have,” government spokesman Bandula Gunawardana was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
Giving details, the Sri Lankan government said the schools across the country will remain shut and employees of private offices will work from home. Moreover, the government officials have been asked to work from home.
Notably, the island nation of 22 million people has run out of fuel for the first time in history.
Military troops deployed in Sri Lanka handed tokens earlier in the day to people queueing for petrol amid a severe fuel shortage in the nation that fights its worst economic crisis in seven decades.
As its foreign exchange reserves are at a record low, the island nation is struggling to pay for essential imports of food, medicine and most critically, fuel.
In the meantime, a team from the International Monetary Fund will visit Sri Lanka to hold talks on a $3-billion bailout package.
