Sri Lanka sends troops to gasoline stations amid worsening financial disaster

Sri Lanka sends troops to fuel stations amid worsening economic crisis

[ad_1]

The Indian Ocean nation is battling a foreign exchange crisis that forced a currency devaluation and hit payments for essential imports such as food, medicine and fuel, prompting it to turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help.

“The government has to provide solutions,” said Seetha Gunasekera, 36, who lives with her husband and two children in Colombo, the capital.

“There is too much hardship and suffering,” added Gunasekera, who said she was spending more time in fuel queues than doing anything else.

“Prices of everything have increased and we are barely able to manage with what we earn daily.”

The decision to deploy troops near petrol pumps and kerosene supply points came after three elderly people dropped dead during their wait in long queues, officials said.

It was a response to complaints of stockpiling and inefficient distribution, said government spokesman Ramesh Pathirana.

“The military has been deployed to help the public, not to curtail their human rights,” he…

[ad_2]