In recent weeks, Shamla Laxman, 54, has been rising at dawn or staying out late at night. She is on the prowl for an item that has become rarer than gold dust in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital of Colombo in recent weeks: sachets of milk powder.
“These days it’s become impossible to find, and when you do find it in a shop, the prices are so expensive, double or triple what it was before, that I can’t afford it for my family,” said Laxman, who feeds a family of seven in her small house.
Chicken, which used to be a staple, is now a luxury item after it more than doubled in price. “All our basic items have become almost unaffordable now,” said Laxman. “Every day I am fearful of not being able to feed my family tomorrow.”
Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, is in the midst of one of the worst financial crises to hit the country since it became independent in 1948. In recent month, food prices have skyrocketed, there has been a continued dearth of essential goods, fruit and vegetables, and long queues have formed outside petrol stations due to a shortage of fuel. This week, daily power cuts of over five hours began to be imposed across the island and warnings were issued that water supplies might also soon be disrupted.
Last week two ships carrying diesel and a tanker of fuel oil sat in the port but their essential cargo could not be brought in as the government didn’t have the dollars to pay for it. Over the weekend, Gemunu Wijeratne, President of the Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association, warned that buses were not being given enough petrol to continue functioning and that journeys were already being shortened.
People queue to buy Liquefied Petroleum Gas cylinders in Colombo as shortages of essentials gripped the island Photograph: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images
“If this continues, public transport will collapse and the economy will come to a standstill,” said Wijeratne.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...each-for-sri-lankans-as-economic-crisis-bites
