Fuel Prices Go Through The Roof
Text and Pictures By Pavithra Jovan De Mello
We captured a picture of a man buying Kerosene oil from a petrol shed in Mount Lavinia. The man complained that the increase in the price of kerosene oil has hit the poor of Sri Lanka hard. He added that due to the recent price hikes, he does not know how he would provide for his family any more., The Sunday Leader captured these pictures in Mount Lavinia considered to be one of Colombo’s upmarket suburbs. Yet, here a woman is seen purchasing a mere sachet of milk powder due to the fact that she cannot afford the standard 400g packet of milk seen at supermarkets and groceries. and Further down the road, in the same locality, we came across a man who had stopped to buy half a pound of bread. Clearly, despite all the surface development projects, significant sections of the nation have no relief nor a chance to improve their quality of life.
Amidst the riots and protest that have been taking place in the island due to the increase in fuel prices, The Sunday Leader visited the poor areas of Colombo to find out how the price increase of kerosine oil impacted on the poor of Sri Lanka.
Speaking to an elderly lady living in a tiny house with no electricity, she confessed that paying around Rs. 100 for a bottle of kerosene oil is difficult, due to the fact that they make so little money, and use this source of fuel for cooking and providing light for her dark home.
It was dark in the tiny house, even with a small kerosine oil lamp or “kuppi lampuwa” lit up. We asked her if she could light up her larger chimney lamp to provide light to take a photograph, but she just shook her head and said she does not have enough oil to light both lamps. With the price of a litre of kerosine going up to Rs. 106, which is a staggering Rs. 35 increase from its previous value, this is the sad reality that these people, a part of Sri Lanka’s poor, currently face.
Find the cause and eradicate.