Troops in Sri Lanka handed out tokens to people queuing for petrol on Monday, amid a severe fuel shortage in the country grappling with its worst economic crisis in 70 years, while schools in Colombo were closed and public employees were inquired to work from home. With its foreign reserves at an all-time low, the island of 22 million people is struggling to pay for critical imports such as food, medicine, and, most importantly, fuel.
"I've been in line for four days, I haven't slept or consumed properly during this time," said W.D. Shelton, 67, was an autorickshaw driver who received a token to hold his place in line until fuel became available.
"We can't earn, we can't even feed our families," added Shelton, who was 24th in line at a filling station in Colombo's centre but planned to stay because he didn't have enough petrol to drive to his home, which was only 5 kilometres (3 miles) away.
It was unclear how far the government's fuel reserves could be stretched.
The stockpiles are approximately 9,000 metric tons of diesel and 6,000 tonnes of petrol, according to Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera on Sunday, but no new shipments are scheduled.
The government has ordered staff to work from home until further notice, and schools in Colombo and surrounding areas have been closed for a week.
Since last week, fuel station lines have grown rapidly.
"This is a tragedy, and we have no idea where it will end," Shelton said.
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