Colombo, Apr. 3: Amid protests over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, Sri Lanka government has imposed a curfew across the country from Saturday 6pm to Monday 6 am, Reuters reported. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa also declared a nationwide public emergency late on Friday. The President invoked tough laws allowing the military to arrest and detain suspects for long periods without trial, as demonstrations calling for his ouster spread across the South Asian nation.

Meanwhile, Lanka IOC, the subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation in Sri Lanka, said Friday it would supply 6,000 MT of fuel to ease the power shortages. On Saturday, Indian traders said they were in the process of shipping 40,000 tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka, according to a report in Reuters.

Anger against Rajapaksa’s handling of a deepening economic crisis in the island nation of 22 million people spiralled into violence late on Thursday, as hundreds of protesters clashed with police for several hours. A severe shortage of foreign currency has left Rajapaksa’s government unable to pay for essential imports, including fuel, leading to debilitating power cuts lasting up to 13 hours.

Swathes of Sri Lanka faced prolonged power cuts on Wednesday as a deepening economic crisis roiled markets and buffeted businesses, with the government unable to pay for fuel shipments because of a foreign exchange shortage, an official said.

The country of 22 million people is seeking assistance from the International Monetary Funds (IMF), having slid into its worst economic crisis in decades as a result of badly-timed tax cuts, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and historically weak government finances. Sri Lankan shares fell more than 7%, prompting the Colombo Stock Exchange to halt trading twice.

Foreign exchange reserves have fallen by 70% in the past two years and were down to a paltry $2.31 billion as of February, leaving Sri lanka struggling to import essentials, including food and fuel.

Janaka Ratnayake, Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, said the drawn-out power cuts were partly a result of the government’s inability to pay $52 million for a 37,000 tonne diesel shipment that is awaiting offloading. -Reuters