Sri Lanka’s economic crisis has gone from bad to worse. In the midst of it all, reports of the Rajapaksas trying to flee Sri Lanka has been spreading like wildfire in Colombo. Reports of two flights on standby at Katunayake and Rathmalana base waiting to fly the Rajapaksas out of the country have been doing the rounds in Colombo, after people’s anger against Sri Lanka’s first family turned uncontrollable.
However, sources close to the Rajapaksas denied these reports, saying the brothers are working hard to solve the acute crisis.
On Thursday - a day after Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar returned home after the BIMSTEC conference in Colombo, protesters laid siege to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s house in Mirihana.
Protests erupted in every road leading to Rajapaksa’s house in Colombo. The agitators were seen holding placards in their hand saying, “Go Home Gota”.
The street lights on Pangiriwatte road at Mirihana also were put off once, because of the tense atmosphere.
Incidentally, the Jubilee Post junction in Colombo, which expanded after Gotabaya took over as the President, saw massive protests since evening on Thursday. Women and children holding placards reading “We also have kids”, participated in the protests. The junction was developed recently to ensure Gotabaya can travel easily to work from home.
Colombo and other parts of Sri Lanka are facing 13-hour power outage. The private transport operators also announced that they will not be able to run due to shortage of fuel. The officials of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation were seen urging the people to leave the long queue and return only after imported diesel is unloaded and distributed to the petrol stations.
At least two more hospitals suspended all routine surgeries due to power cuts and shortage of drugs. The country’s biggest medical facility, the National Hospital of Sri Lanka in Colombo, suspended even diagnostic tests as it has run out of vital medical supplies, aesthetics and chemicals.
