Wood stoves instead of gas

Last week, Sri Lanka was named the world's second-highest inflation country for the first time. The economic crisis that led to it began three years ago. That is to say, the economic collapse that began with the collapse of the tourism industry due to the Easter attack was further exacerbated by the Kovid epidemic. Mothers were the first to suffer the consequences. By losing the gas needed to cook it. Its condition is worse now than ever. Gas distributed throughout the country has to be restricted to the city. Our economic power has dwindled to a point where it cannot do so.

Litro Gas points out that gas has to be released only to the most vulnerable consumers. But there is already a severe gas shortage in the market. It has been reported that the residents of the city who have been facing various difficulties due to the shortage of gas have been protesting for gas for about two weeks. Responding to a query from Litro regarding the current situation, the company's media official said,

"We received gas stocks yesterday (17). But they could not land last night because of the strong waves. We have been trying to park the ship at the Colombo port and buy a sub since this morning. Then we can start deliveries from tomorrow. It will be possible to distribute only to nearby places after 12 tomorrow. It will be Friday to settle the matter. ”

According to Media Officer Ketheeswaran, the current stock of gas is limited to the Colombo district as it is limited. “We need 3700 metric tons for two days. But this is only 2800 metric tons. This amount will take about a day and a half. The majority of our customers use gas as well as firewood. Gas is essential for those living in suburban flats. They have no other alternative energy. The electricity is cut off in the morning, so they must use gas for their cooking. Therefore, we have given priority to those who use only gas for cooking. They cannot use firewood, kerosene or electricity. So if we do not give them priority, they will become helpless. ”

That being the case, Litro chairman Vijitha Herath was quoted in several media reports as saying that the company would be able to launch 80,000 gas cylinders a day from today (Wednesday). When we inquired, Litro was correcting that it should be 8,000, not 80,000. The company has also paid US $ 6.6 million for two gas ships and the second ship carrying 3,800 metric tons is scheduled to arrive at the port on the 19th of this month.

Accordingly, after unloading the second ship, gas can be supplied to other parts of the Western Province as well. Litro urges consumers in rural areas to use firewood. He says there is no alternative to the current energy crisis but alternatives. Litro also points out that there is no point in waiting in line to buy gas as gas is not distributed to rural areas. Accordingly, it is timely to consider those areas as firewood zones and focus on the use of firewood.

When we inquired about the use of firewood in rural areas, a mother in the Medawachchiya area said that the gas cylinder in her house was empty a month ago. Until then, gas was used only to prepare breakfast, but now only firewood is used. Ms. Nissansala's family of four members, who live in the Udathalawinna area in Kandy, also said they had completely stopped using gas and were using firewood to supply her house. He said he only buys firewood from a nearby shop on rainy days. Ms. Fatima Husna, a resident of Wellawaya, also said that she had saved money by using firewood since the beginning of the gas crisis and did not have to wait in line to buy gas.

Until the country recovers from the economic crisis, it has been a problem for Litro to release gas into the woods. The company has given priority only to urban and semi-urban areas. The company has already reduced its daily output from 80,000 cylinders to 30,000 cylinders. According to Litro Media Officer Ketheeswaran, the current release of 30,000 cylinders per day is also a problem. There will also be a problem with gas released for commercial purposes. The Restaurant Owners' Association says gas restrictions will do more harm than good due to the shortage of essential goods already on the market and rising commodity prices.

During a recent parliamentary discussion, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said that at present there are 4 million empty gas cylinders and it will take at least 20 days to restore the supply according to the number issued daily. He also said that he hopes to formulate a system for gas distribution in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance.

However, $ 30 million a month is needed to buy gas. With the country facing an economic crisis in which even essential medicines cannot be purchased, it is difficult to spend this much dollars on gas. Therefore, 73% of the population in this country who can use alternative energy instead of gas should resort to using alternative energy instead of gas.