Middle East conflict could affect essential services: Deputy Minister

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana

The  Middle East conflict could affect essential services in Sri Lanka, and an emergency is needed to ensure the effective delivery of such services, Deputy Minister of Defence Aruna Jayasekera told Parliament yesterday.

He said air traffic and sea movements are already subject to limitations.

“Essential services could be affected within the coming weeks as well. It could be recalled that there was some effect on essential services as the general public rushed towards purchasing fuel. We saw queues at filling stations. This is natural as people began to panic when they heard of the hostilities in the Middle East,” he said.

“We needed the state of emergency declared  when the cyclone Ditwah hit the nation . We had to appoint a Commissioner General of Essential Services. He visited across the country to see that emergency relief reached the people. He has been given the necessary instructions to act at this moment as well. The government is totally focused on providing essential services,” the Deputy Minister  added.