Petrol price rises to Rs. 50 and diesel Rs. 20

 

( PTI) Colombo ,Ta. 3

Amid the economic crisis, Sri Lanka has seen a sharp rise in fuel prices three times in two months, putting more burden on the country's people who are facing inflation. The government has hiked petrol prices by Rs 30 and diesel by Rs 50.

After the recent announcement, petrol price in Sri Lanka has gone up to Rs 80 and diesel to Rs 80. Due to shortage of fuel during the season, fuel supply will be available only at limited petrol pumps till next week.

The government-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has announced a hike in fuel prices from Sunday. It may be recalled that on May 8, petrol prices were hiked by 3 per cent and diesel by 3 per cent. This is the third increase in fuel prices since April 15.

Energy Minister Kanchan Vijasekara tweeted, "I am sorry that the CPC told me that the suppliers had promised to deliver petroleum and diesel by the current week . However, they were unable to deliver due to reasons including logistics."

The Minister further said that fuel would be made available to public transport , power generation and industries on priority basis till the next supply arrives. While fuel will be supplied only to limited filling stations till next week.

There has been a shortage of fuel in Sri Lanka for the last several days. The transport system in Sri Lanka, which is facing an economic crisis, has come to a standstill. Government employees have been ordered to work from home. Petrol-diesel prices have gone up so much that people have to think a thousand times to get from one place to another.

Sri Lanka is also getting expensive fuel from Pakistan. According to media reports, the price of petrol in Pakistan has been Rs 7.5 per liter since June 15 and the price of diesel has been Rs 4.61 per liter. Thus, the price of petrol and diesel in Sri Lanka has doubled compared to Pakistan.