The economy is booming, the Sri Lankan government has announced a 10-hour power cut
In the Corona situation, Sri Lanka's tourism industry has almost come to a standstill, affecting revenues from abroad. Its impact is detrimental to the economy.
It touched a record 25 percent in early January. Foreign exchange reserves sank to the bottom in the last quarter of February. At that time, some economists predicted a financial catastrophe in Sri Lanka. That prediction came true before the turn of the month.
The South Asian island nation’s economy has never had such a bad time since gaining independence from the British in 1947. Excessive military spending during the three-and-a-half-decade-long civil war weighed heavily on Sri Lanka’s economy. In the Corona situation, the tourism industry has almost come to a standstill, which has affected the income from abroad.
The situation is so dire that even if oil came in from two ships, it could not be taken for granted due to lack of dollars, Petroleum Minister Uday Gamanpila said last week. The Colombo government is unable to import paper and ink due to lack of foreign currency. As a result, all school to university level examinations have been postponed across the country!
In addition, the import of medicines and medical equipments is hampered by mismanagement created in public and private hospitals. The power supply has become irregular for the last few days. The Sri Lankan government has announced that the entire country, including the capital Colombo, will be without power for 10 hours a day from Wednesday. That means the night in Colombo is now a candle.
In this situation panic is growing even among the general public. The crisis is compounded by the growing trend of stockpiling food and essentials across the country. Long lines at shops and petrol pumps. Minor disturbances are also occurring due to increasing supply. In this situation, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has ordered the deployment of troops to monitor the petrol pumps.
