Sri Lanka has started a process🔯 to import cooking gas through a credit line arrangement with India, the chair of the country’s state-run gas company Litro Gas said on Friday as he resigned from his post alleging that a gas mafia was engaged in corruption amidst the country’s worst economic crisis.
Sri Lanka is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis in history. With long lines for fuel, cooking gaꦍs, essentials in short supply and long hours🎃 of power cuts, the public has been suffering for months.
Theshara Jayasinghe, the Chairman and CEO of Litro Gas, the country’s largest importer and supplier of cooking gas, said in his resignation letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa: “I had initiated a process through the Indian High Commission to obtain an Indian🅺 credit line to import gas. This could be easily implemented”.
Jayasinghe said he was resigning as he did not receive the fullest cooperation from♔ the government and had come under pressure from what he called a gas mafia operating against him.
“There is massiveꦐ corruption in the gas businesꦡs,” Jayasinghe said.
Cooking gas shortage is just one of the scarcities that the public had to face in the island nation’s worst economic crisis since independen꧋ce.
People are forced to spend time in long queues for fuel while most esse꧅ntialꩵs, including medicine, are in short supply.
Massive anti-government protests are being held throughout the country with a majoꦗr demonstration happening outside the Rajapaksa secre𓂃tariat in central Colombo.
The protest, which entered its seventh day on Friday, was bolstered by🎀 the appearance of celebrities.
“We tell the President, please resign, you have proved a failure,” film director Udayakantha Warnasuriya sa🌠id.
A policemanꦿ who joined protesters while still in uniform🎀 on Thursday was released on bail on Friday.
The sergeant blessed the protesters while on duty and said the corrupt system🌠 and those responsible for it m𒅌ust quit.
The protesters expressed anger over the latest decision 𒉰to ration fuel at retail stations.
“Th🥂ey must be sent home immediately, we cannot run hires with just 1,500 rupe𓃲es worth of petrol,” an auto rickshaw driver Samantha told reporters.
With the economic crisis and the shortage of forex, an Indian credit line of USD 500 million for 🎀fuel imports provided a lifeline to the island nation.
India recently announced to ex🐈tend a USD 1 billion line of credit to Sri Lanka as part of its financial assistance to the country to deal with the economic crisis following a previous USD 500 billion line of credit in February to help it purchase petroleum products.
President Rajapaksa has defended his government's actions, saying the foreign exchange crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic d🐼riven with the island nation’s tourism revenue and inward remittances waning.
