Former Sri Lanka cricketer and Minister Arjuna Ranatunga on Wednesday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping Sri Lanka amid its ongoing economic crisis.
Sri Lanka is battling a severe economic crisis with food and fuel scarcity affecting a large number of the people in the island nation. The economy has been in a free-fall since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. "PM Modi was very generous to give the grant to start Jaffna International Airport. India has been an elder brother to us. I am glad that they are monitoring the situation rather than giving money to Sri Lanka. They are looking at our needs like petrol and medicines and I am sure that these are things we will be lacking in a couple of months. India has been helping us in a big way," Arjuna Ranatunga told the media.
"My major worry is that I don't want a blood bath. I am very scared and don't want people to start another war, which we suffered for years. Some of the politicians in the government are trying to show that the disease was created by Tamils and Muslims and by doing this they are trying to divide the country," he added.
Regarding the ongoing protests in the country, Ranatunga justified the actions of the general public and said that the government did not handle the COVID-19 pandemic properly.
"The general public came out to ask for very basic things such as rice, petrol, food, etc. I don't agree with the violence that is happening, it should not happen. But the country has gone into a major mess in the last two years. The government can give the excuse that it is COVID but other countries also went through that. These people did not handle things properly and were overconfident that they can get away with anything they do. They even got rid of their court cases and that's the reason why people came on the road," said the former cricketer.
Separately, former Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya too praised India for supporting his country in time of crisis.
Calling India a "big brother", former Sri Lankan cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya lauded the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sending help to the island nation as it battles the worst economic crisis since independence. "You know as always as a neighbour, the big brother of the next to our country has been helping us… We are very grateful to the Indian government and the Prime Minister (Modi). So, for us even to survive it is not very easy at the moment, things are going through… I hope that things will change and also with the help of India and other countries and we are trying to come out from this situation," Jayasuriya told ANI.
India has supplied over 270,000 MT fuel to Sri Lanka so far to help ease the power crisis in the island country which is witnessing acute power cuts. Sri Lanka is battling a severe economic crisis with food and fuel scarcity affecting a large number of the people in the island nation. The economy has been in a free-fall since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Indian credit line for fuel at work!!! One consignment each of 36,000 MT petrol and 40,000 MT diesel was delivered to Sri Lanka in the last 24 hours. Total supply of various types of fuel under Indian assistance now stands at more than 270,000 MT," the Indian embassy in Colombo tweeted.
Sri Lanka's National Eye Hospital Director expressed his gratitude to India for providing medicines as the nation facing its shortage and said that the timely help has ensured the functioning of the health facilities.
"Most of our drugs are coming from India under Indian credit line, and more supply will come to us in near future. It is a great help for us. I thank India for the support," Dr Dammika, Director of National Eye Hospital Colombo told ANI.
The Sri Lankan rupee is fast depreciating against the dollar and foreign debt is mounting. The Sri Lankan government's income has also taken a big hit due to a drop in tourism that has given rise to gas and fuel shortages, leading to massive power cuts.
As New Delhi is providing financial assistance to Colombo, India has announced another USD 1 billion as a credit to Sri Lanka to help shore up the sinking economy of the island nation. The USD 1 billion line of credit to Colombo will help in keeping their food prices and fuel costs under check.
Several hotels located in Colombo said they have suffered huge losses due to ongoing mass protests in the city. The country's tourism sector, one of the major contributors to its economy, which was slowly reviving after the COVID pandemic, has now hit hard.
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