Colombo, June 27 (Agencies): The Sri Lankan Cabinet Spokesman, Minister Bandula Gunawardena said the decision was taken by the Cabinet which met today.
He said that the limited stock of fuel with the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) will be issued for essential services.
This includes the health sector, port, essential food distribution and other key services.
The Government had earlier decided to issue fuel at fuel stations from today under a token system.
The military and Police had begun issuing tokens at fuel stations to motorists.
However, Gunawardena said the distribution of fuel will be limited to essential services from midnight tonight.
Gunawardena said the distribution of fuel and gas is expected to normalise from 10th July.
He said that a system has been put in place to ensure fuel distribution returns to normal from 10th July.
The Minister said that inter-province bus services might be curtailed as a result of the fuel situation.
The Minister also expressed regret over the current situation. (Colombo Gazette)
Train and Bus Services to be Maintained
Train and private bus services will not be affected by the restrictions for tomorrow and will operate under normal schedules.
The Railways General Manager Dhammika Jayasundara said the services would be restricted following the instructions received by the government by tomorrow.
Accordingly, all trains, including the long distance trains, will run tomorrow as usual.
So far, we have not faced any problems with the current fuel crisis, the GMR said.
Meanwhile, National Transport Commission (NTC) Director General Nilan Miranda told the Daily Mirror that they have not made any restrictions to bus service, however the buses would run based on the availability of diesel.
“New filling stations were opened at Bastian Mawatha Bus Station, Colombo, and at the Makumbura Multi-modal Centre in Kottawa. If those filling stations receive fuel under essential services, buses would run without being hindered. If not, only limited buses would be on the roads, “NTC Director General said.
However, the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) had agreed to provide fuel for private buses from their 100 depots across the country. If they provide fuel as agreed, there would be no issues with the service.
