Colombo: Calling India “Big Brother”, Former Sri Lanka Sanath Jayasuriya praised the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sending assistance to the island because of the worst economic crisis battle since independence.
“As a neighbor and a great brother of our country, India always helps us. We thank the Government of India and Modi PM. For us, it doesn’t easily survive because of the current scenario. We hope to get out. We hope to get out of this with Indian assistance & other countries, “he said.
India has supplied more than 270,000 MT of fuel to Sri Lanka so far to help alleviate the power crisis in the island country that witnessed acute power outages. Sri Lanka fought against the severe economic crisis with food and scarcity of fuel which affected a large number of people in the island country. The economy has fallen free since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Indian credit line for fuel at work !!! one shipments of 36,000 MT of gasoline and 40,000 MT Diesel was sent to Sri Lanka in the last 24 hours. The total supply of various types of fuel under Indian assistance is now standing in more than 270,000 MT, “Indian Embassy in Colombo Tweeted.
The Director of Sri Lanka National Eye Hospital expressed his gratitude to India because it gave medicines as a nation that faced their shortcomings and said that timely assistance has ensured the function of health facilities.
“Most of our drugs come from India under the Indian credit path, and more supplies will come to us in the near future. It really helps us. I thank India for its support,” Dr Dammika, Director of the National Eye Hospital Colombo told Ani.
Sri Lankan rupees are depreciated quickly against the dollar and foreign debt increases. The income of the Sri Lankan government has also taken a big hit because of the decline in tourism that has caused a shortage of gas and fuel, which leads to massive power cuts.
When New Delhi provided financial assistance to Colombo, India has announced another $ 1 billion as a credit to Sri Lanka to help support the immune-suited island economy. The $ 1 billion credit line for Colombo will help keep food prices and their fuel costs below the check.
Some hotels located in Colombo said they suffered heavy losses due to mass protests ongoing in the city. The country’s tourism sector, one of the main contributors to its economy, which slowly revived after Covid’s pandemic, has now hit hard.
Meanwhile, a group of lecturers and professors of the University on Wednesday held a demonstration of protests against the government.