Missing Sri Lankan Prez Rajapaksa back in action; orders gas distribution

International

oi-PTI

Colombo,
July
10:
Embattled
President
Gotabaya
Rajapaksa,
whose
location
is
still
unknown
since
the
protesters
overran
both
his
office
and
the
official
residence,
has
ordered
officials
to
ensure
the
smooth
distribution
of
cooking
gas
after
the
fuel-starved
country
received
3,700
metric
tonnes
of
LP
gas,
his
office
said
on
Sunday.

In
recent
months
people
have
been
blocking
roads
across
the
country
in
a
desperate
bid
to
force
the
government
to
address
the
issue
of
acute
gas
shortages.

President
Rajapaksa
has
instructed
the
officers
to
carry
out
the
unloading
and
distribution
of
gas
as
the
first
ship
arrives
at
Kerawalapitiya
this
afternoon.
A
second
ship
carrying
3,740
metric
tonnes
of
gas
is
due
on
July
11
and
a
third
carrying
3,200
metric
tonnes
of
gas
will
arrive
on
July
15,
according
to
Sri
Lankan
media.

A
large
gathering
of
protesters
continue
to
occupy
the
president
and
prime
minister’s
iconic
administrative
buildings
which
also
function
as
official
residences.
No
major
breaches
of
security
reported
on
Sunday,
the
police
said.

President
Rajapaksa
was
not
present
in
the
presidential
House
when
a
mob
stormed
the
building
on
Saturday.

Sri
Lanka,
a
country
of
22
million
people,
is
under
the
grip
of
an
unprecedented
economic
turmoil,
the
worst
in
seven
decades,
crippled
by
an
acute
shortage
of
foreign
exchange
that
has
left
it
struggling
to
pay
for
essential
imports
of
fuel,
and
other
essentials.

The
country,
with
an
acute
foreign
currency
crisis
that
resulted
in
foreign
debt
default,
had
announcedin
April
that
it
is
suspending
nearly
$7
billion
foreign
debt
repayment
due
for
this
year
out
of
about
$25
billion
due
through
2026.

Sri
Lanka’s
total
foreign
debt
stands
at
$51
billion.