Sri Lanka may not be able to obtain fuel and coal via credit line from any other country, should the trade unions responding to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) go on strike tomorrow (09) and cut off the country’s electricity supply leaving the entire country in the dark, warned Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, speaking to Parliament today (08).
Despite agitations and demonstrations not being a problem, keeping the country in the dark may risk fuel supplies from India, Wickremesinghe said, urging the parties endorsing the strike action not to ask him to import fuel from India in such a scenario.
If we have no urge to solve our own problems, will other countries help us at all? the Prime Minister questioned, revealing that some parties in the neighbour country are already against the idea of Sri Lanka receiving fuel from India.
“The international community always says that we should help ourselves and we may later receive their help,” Wickremesinghe added.
However, the Electrical Engineers’ Association of the CEB insisted that all workers of the Board will be stepping down from their duties from midnight today in objection to the proposed Electricity Amendment Bill, cutting off power to the entire country from about 8 am tomorrow.
MIAP