Sri Lanka shuts schools to cope with worsening fuel shortage

SRI LANKAN authorities closed schools and asked public officials not to come to work to prepare for a fuel shortage that is expected to last days amid the nation’s worst economic crisis in decades.

The Ministry of Public Administration asked the public officials, except for those who maintain essential services, to not travel to work yesterday, “in view of current fuel shortage and issues in transport facilities” in the country.

State and government-approved private schools also closed as the fuel shortage worsened, with thousands of people queuing at petrol stations across the country for days at a time.

Sri Lanka is now almost without gasoline and faces an acute shortage of other fuels as well.

The government has been struggling to find money to import fuel, gas and other essentials as the Indian Ocean island nation faces bankruptcy.

Its economic woes have brought on a political crisis, with the government facing widespread protests.

Demonstrators have blocked main roads to demand gas and fuel, and television stations showed people in some areas fighting over limited stocks.

Authorities have announced countrywide power cuts of up to four hours a day because they cannot supply enough fuel to power stations.

Sri Lanka has suspended repayment of about $7billion (£5.6million) in foreign loans due this year out of $25 billion to be repaid by 2026. The country’s total foreign debt is $51 billion.

The finance ministry says the country has only $25million in usable foreign reserves.

Protesters have occupied the entrance to Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidential office for more than a month, calling for him to resign.