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SHORTAGES PERSIST
As depleted reserves have dried up supplies of petrol, diesel and gas, lengthy fuel queues, sometimes persisting for days, have become a daily feature this year.
The shortages have brought a boom in demand for firewood.
Krishan Darshana said he had joined his father in breaking up logs to sell as kindling after getting laid off from a job in construction during the crisis.
“It’s very hard work,” said the 25-year-old, who now makes do with a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits as the day’s only meal. “But what else can I do when there are no jobs for us?”
Times are also tough for those with health problems.
“Government hospitals have run out of medicine so they ask us to buy from pharmacies – but we don’t have any money,” said Krishan’s mother, 60-year-old Gamage Rupawathi.
She suffers from asthma, cholesterol and arthritis, but now finds she has just three days of drugs left.
“After this is over, what do I do?” she asked tearfully, gesturing to an inhaler she uses twice a day to help her breathe.
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