Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan Crisis: Hundreds protest outside President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's private residence, riot police deployed
Colombo: Hundreds of protestors gathered outside Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's private residence in the capital city late on Thursday night, after the island experienced long power cuts further worsening the economic conditions.
Protesters seen chasing away STF officials. #lka #EconomicCrisisLK #CitizensProtest pic.twitter.com/Zd4k9Sd8sV
— Dasuni Athauda (@AthaudaDasuni) March 31, 2022
Riot police had to be deployed to control the protesters, they used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd.
Protesters chanted “Gota go home”.
Many of them were seen holding posters with anti-government slogans, and demanded that the government should step down as it has “mishandled” the nation's economy.
Over the last few weeks, Sri Lanka has seen a severe crisis characterised by acute shortages of food, cooking gas and fuel.
Skyrocketing costs have added to public resentment.
Yesterday night protest in Sri Lanka near presidents house in #Mirihana
— KollyWood Updates (@KollyUpdates4) April 1, 2022
The protest was held due to the current economic crisis in Sri Lanka. Its time to step up now.#GoHomeGota #SriLankapic.twitter.com/zxw8oAMcHu
Sri Lanka's economy was affected by a long-brewing Balance of Payments problem, which was aggravated due to the pandemic and led to a dollar crunch late last year.
The crisis escalated since the start of 2022, hitting Sri Lankans hard.
The protests remained largely peaceful until Thursday night when hundreds of people took their anger to the President's doorstep.
(With UNI inputs)
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