A ship carrying 40,000 tonnes of diesel under a $1 billion credit line given to Sri Lanka by India has reached the island nation. It is reported that the fuel will be distributed across Sri Lanka by today (April 2, 2022) evening.

The nation of 22 million people is in the grips of its worst downturn since independence, sparked by an acute lack of foreign currency to pay for even the most essential imports.

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It can be seen that diesel is the main fuel for buses and commercial vehicles in the island nation and was unavailable at stations across the island.

The owners of the private buses said they were already out of oil and that even skeleton services might not be possible.

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Meanwhile, on Friday, Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency, giving sweeping powers to security forces a day after hundreds tried to storm his house in anger over the unprecedented economic crisis.

The Sri Lankan President invoked the tough laws allowing the military to arrest and detain suspects for long periods without trial as demonstrations calling for his ouster spread across the island nation.

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The southern towns of Galle, Matara and Moratuwa also saw anti-government protests, and similar demonstrations were reported in the northern and central regions. All held up traffic on main roads.