Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence. (File)
Colombo:
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday assured lawmakers that the island nation had been able to secure adequate reserves of diesel and petrol, which would last until mid-June.
Mr Vikramasinghe made the remarks during the first session of the ongoing Sri Lankan parliament following the change of guard last week following the resignation of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The new Sri Lankan prime minister stressed that fuel stocks would reduce long queues at fuel stations, but stressed that “the queues for fuel will not be fully spread”.
Mr Bikramasinghe also explained to the house that the delay in delivery of natural gas by Litro, the country’s main gas supplier.
He sought an immediate explanation from the chairman and requested that the chairman of the Public Enterprises Committee be summoned by Litro Gas officials for an explanation, an official statement said.
The prime minister added that the order to shoot at the sight of violent protesters had not been formally communicated to the security forces during the unrest. He explained that all security forces have been instructed to follow the standard procedure.
Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence due to food and energy shortages, rising prices and power shortages for large numbers of people, leading to widespread protests that led to the resignation of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa last week.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published from a syndicated feed.)
