Only 50% of private buses on roads today due to fresh diesel crunch

Energy Minister says not to panic as plenty of stocks on the way

Only 50% of private buses will be operational from today (26), Lanka Private Bus Operators Association (LPBOA) head Gemunu Wijeratne said yesterday addressing the media.

Wijeratne said that there seemed to be a diesel shortage in the country. “We have not got adequate amounts of diesel from SLTB depots in the last three days. Most buses in the Southern Province was not operational on Thursday as well. We need a quick response from the government,” he said.

Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera said that a ship carrying 30,000 tonnes of super diesel had arrived in Sri Lanka on Thursday morning and unloading had already commenced.

“Another ship carrying 120,000 tonnes of crude oil will also arrive soon. An auto diesel ship and a petrol ship will also arrive in the coming days. There is no reason to panic,” he said.

SLTB depots had not received diesel in two days, a senior SLTB officer said. They are unable to provide diesel for private buses in adequate quantities because of that, he said. However, the depots are expected to receive diesel today, he said.