Protest due to the economic crisis in Sri Lanka. File photoNEW DELHI, Apr 19 At least one person was killed and 24 injured in Sri Lanka as protesters clashed with police, according to Adaderana. The clashes occurred in the city of Rambukkana amid rising prices for Fuel — On Tuesday, Sri Lanka's state-owned fuel company Ceylon Petroleum Corporation increased the price of gasoline by 33.1% to a record 338 rupees ($1.02) per liter and diesel by 64.2% to 289 rupees (0.88 dollar). The increase in the cost of fuel, according to the Sri Lankan media, is associated with a fall in the value of the local currency by about 30%.Media: Sri Lankans flee to India due to food shortagesThe residents of Rambukkana, who had been queuing for fuel since early morning, staged a protest in the city, completely blocking all roads to the city, and called on the authorities to sell fuel at the same prices. To disperse protesters who blocked the railroad crossing at Rambukkan for more than 15 hours, the police fired tear gas, and later «a tense situation arose during which the police opened fire on the protesters.» Sri Lanka is experiencing the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948. It is caused by a shortage of foreign exchange resulting from the restriction of tourist flow due to the coronavirus pandemic, as a result of which the country cannot purchase enough fuel. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the island's tourism sector, a key source of foreign exchange, sharply, and remittances from Sri Lankans working abroad have also declined. There is an acute shortage of food and basic necessities, fuel and gas in the country. Many parts of Sri Lanka are facing continuous power outages for up to 13 hours due to a lack of foreign exchange to import fuel. Last week, the Sri Lankan authorities defaulted on their external debt for an interim period, pending a restructuring of these obligations under the economic IMF-supported restructuring. The island nation's external debt is estimated at $51 billion.
