Power cuts of up to 6.5 hours in Sri Lanka from April 6-8, here's how India is helping

Power cuts of up to 6.5 hours have been approved in Sri Lanka from April 6 to April 8. Janak Ratnayake, chairman of the Public Utilities Commission, says that the shortfall in foreign reserves for importing fuel from money borrowed from India has been temporarily reduced.

In India's neighbouring Sri Lanka, 40,000 metric tonnes of diesel arrived at the Colombo port on Saturday under an Indian USD 500 million line of credit, providing relief to thousands of people queuing up at fuel stations and those affected by 13-hour power cuts.

As the shipment arrived, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) announced that the 13-hour power cut would now be reduced from Sunday to about two hours. Sri Lanka's electricity generation mainly depends on the fuel and all except two plants have closed due to shortage of diesel.

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Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay, who visited Colombo port, said the fuel delivery is a concrete expression of India's commitment to the people of Sri Lanka, in line with its 'neighbourhood first' policy in the current situation. The island nation is struggling to pay for imports due to huge debt obligations and dwindling foreign reserves.

Two lakh MT have been supplied in 50 days

In Sri Lanka, the country's economy has been grappling with a lack of transportation of goods for days, while mechanised farming and fishing have come to a standstill due to a lack of diesel in fuel stations. The fourth consignment from India under the fuel line of credit came after three previous deliveries on March 16, 20 and 23.

In the last 50 days, India has supplied around 200,000 metric tonnes of diesel to Sri Lanka, including a consignment of 40,000 metric tonnes by Indian Oil Corporation in February 2022, apart from a credit facility.

Energy Minister thanks India

Sri Lanka's Energy Minister Gamini Lokuge, who visited the port to welcome the shipment, thanked India for helping at a crucial moment. Earlier, the Export Import Bank of India and the Sri Lankan government had signed a USD 500 million loan agreement on February 2 for the purchase of petroleum products.