External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar ochaired a parliamentary consultative committee meeting on the situation in Sri Lanka and said there was “unanimous support” on the need to stand with the neighbouring country in this hour of crisis.
Opposition leaders such as Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi and DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, among others, attended the meeting.
Sri Lanka has been facing an economic crisis which has prompted an acute shortage of essential items like food, medicine, cooking gas and fuel across the island nation.
The nearly-bankrupt country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, had announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026. Sri Lanka’s total foreign debt stands at USD 51 billion.
The Indian credit lines since January this year have provided a lifeline to Sri Lanka amidst growing public dissent over the worsening economic conditions.
Sri Lanka asks govt employees to work from home amid fuel shortages
On Friday, the Sri Lankan government ordered public sector employees to work from home for two weeks due to severe fuel shortages.
Sri Lanka is facing a problem in getting foreign exchange to pay for fuel imports, and its existing stock of petrol and diesel is set to run out over the next few days.
“Taking into consideration the severe limits on fuel supply, the weak public transport system and the difficulty in using private vehicles this circular allows minimal staff to report to work from Monday,” the Public Administration and Home Affairs Ministry said on Friday.
Earlier this week, the government also approved a four-day work week for public sector workers to help them cope with a chronic fuel shortage and encourage them to grow food.
