Ground report: Amid inflation, cooking every meal is a struggle in Sri Lanka

People wait in queue for about a week to get a refill cooking gas cylinder in the Island nation. As inflation shoots through the roof in the economic crisis ridden Sri Lanka, daily life is a struggle in itself, writes ETV Bharat's Suparna Das.

Kolkata/Ragama(Sri Lanka):It was on Friday when Jaysooma Rathnayake heaved a sigh of relief on his way back home. He was standing in the queue for cooking gas since Monday and was only lucky to get the cylinder on Friday. Rathnayake tried to stay put in line as much as possible despite being sick.

He only used to visit home for showers, cooking, and two-square meals. "I did not sleep well at night due to worry. I wondered whether the queue would remain intact in my absence," he said. It was a relief for the Rathnayake family as he took home a gas cylinder to keep his kitchen running.

Septuagenarian Jayasuma Rathnayake is a resident of Ragama, a suburb in Sri Lanka. This suburb is at a distance of 15 kilometres from the capital Colombo. Since Jayasuma's financial condition is not bad, the family can currently manage two-square meals a day despite the turmoil the country is facing. But, the 72-year-old man isn't sure how long he can pull it off.

Jayasuma Rathnayake poses for a selfie with his son Kasun Sanka Rathnayake, while cooking a meal using gas, in Sri Lanka, on Wednesday.

His son Kasun Sanka Rathnayake has no dearth of worries about Jayasuma Rathnayake. "My father has heart disease for which a lot of money is being spent on medicines. Still, he is waiting in the queue for cooking gas," Kasun told ETV Bharat in a telephonic conversation.

Many people have lost their jobs due to the financial crisis that started across the country island nation. But Kasun's office is still open. The four-wheelers and two-wheelers of Kasun's house are parked in their garage as they have become useless thanks to the fuel scarcity.

Forty-year-old Kasun has no other option but to walk to the office, which consumes a lot of time of his entire day. Besides his old father, Kasun has two sisters, who live separately. As a result, Jayasuma has to handle the kitchen as well as stand in the queue for gas.

Kasun feels lucky that they still have the ability to buy gas cylinders! "To buy a cylinder of 13.1 kilograms, one had to spend 1,380 LKR (Sri Lankan currency) even a few days ago, but now it costs 4,080 LKR," Kasun adds. Similar cost escalations are felt in all essential commodities.

Many have switched to firewood cooking mode as economic crisis deepens in the island nation.

Given the situation, many people have returned to the ancient era. They are now back cooking in a wood oven instead of a gas oven. The Rathnayaka family is no exception. Now, one has to spend gas wisely in this situation. Jayasuma is now busy collecting wood from the home garden to save money for the future.

A few people are shelling out 300 LKR for 1200 grams of wood. Local residents complain that the government is unfazed and is least bothered about the people's plight. On the pretext of solving the energy crisis, each family is given only 2 litres of kerosene per month, they blame.

Meanwhile, the marketplace has become beyond reach for many. The prices of Rice, flour, vegetables, and fish have skyrocketed in no time. Lankans are no stranger to sea food. They love to thrive on fish and rice. Rice is known as Sahal in Sinhalese. They prefer Samba among the rice varieties, which is is quite similar to Basmati — both in taste and smell.

However, the price of rice, which was earlier 130 to 150 LKR per kg, has now become 290 to 300 LKR. There is a huge demand for various marine fish including tuna in Sri Lankan markets. But due to the non-availability of diesel, fishermen are unable to venture out to the seas.

This has also resulted in an exorbitant price rise. People, who used to spend 500 LKR to get half a kilo of tuna fish even a few days ago, now have to shell out at least 1,250 LKR for the same quantity. The price of flour has risen from 135 LKR to 335 LKR per kg. Carrots are priced at 800 to 900 LKR for a kg, which used to cost 200 LKR.