Sarath Mahinda’s saga: Just one among the 1.23mn ‘vulnerable’ segment of Colombo
Although last year was labelled a "recovery period," following the economic crisis that hit the country in
2021,a policy report based on the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index derived from the United Nations Development Program's (UNDP) National Citizen Survey for 2022-2023 revealed that more than six in ten Sri Lankans are multi-dimensionally vulnerable.
Sri Lanka’s Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) statistics (on a scale of 0 - 1, (with zero indicating no one being vulnerable and 1 indicating everyone being vulnerable) read 0.206
The UNDP report further showed that 55.7% (12.34 million of a population of 22.16 million) of Sri Lankans are in a multidimensionally vulnerable state.
The UNDP report also highlighted that the highest number of multidimensionally vulnerable population lives in
Gampaha (1.37 million) and Colombo (1.23 million).
Sarath Mahinda is just one among this vulnerable population in Colombo. He is a vegetable seller who pushes his cart from Kompanna Veediya all the way to Beira Lake to make a living.
Mahinda was putting on the covers of his vegetable cart after barely making Rs. 1000 for the day.
His wife, K. G. Somalatha, said he leaves home around 2 a.m. after having a cup of plain tea and a piece of jaggery to satisfy his hunger.
Somalatha is a diabetic patient who lost her job a few weeks ago as a housemaid due to her age.
“There is no one to help us. We don’t have a charity allowance," she said. "If we eat in the morning, we skip lunch,” she added.
“My wife and children have something to eat only if I push this cart daily," says Mahinda.
While many individuals have stories that are similar to Mahinda’s, small-scale business owners too are struggling to make ends meet.
All Ceylon Bakery Association president N. K. Jayawardene told the Sunday Times that although electricity (recent tariff hike implemented on October 20, which was the third hike that occurred this year) and gas prices (recent hike on October 5) keep increasing, they are unable to revise the prices of bakery items as people will not be able to afford them, and items will not be sold.
“There’s no foreseeable hope,” Mr. Jayawardene says, requesting a relief in taxes.
A bakery owner in Kompanna Vidiya Muhammad told the Sunday Times that most shop owners had closed down around the area due to their inability to pay bills. “We are wondering when we will have to do the same,” he sighed.
The crisis also posed a multidimensional threat to the United Nations' ‘Sustainable Development Goals in terms of raising the headcount of poverty, increasing food insecurity, and disrupting the education system and health sector.