THE LION ON ITS FEET

SRI LANKA HAS CLAWED BACK FROM ECONOMIC COLLAPSE, HELD UP BY ITS WORKERS, EXPORTERS, EXPATS AND RESILIENT CITIZENS. THE REAL TEST NOW IS WHETHER THE GOVERNMENT CAN TURN THE FRAGILE STABILITY INTO LASTING PROSPERITY

- BY LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN/Colombo & Jaffna PHOTOS BY SALIL BERA

On the streets of Colombo, the mood is cautiously hopeful, but never too far from anxious.

Just three years ago, long queues for fuel, hours of power cuts and soaring food prices triggered the Janatha Aragalaya, the popular uprising that toppled a president. Today, buses run mostly on time, the lights stay on and supermarket shelves are stocked again. The government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, which completed a year in office on September 23, insists that the country has turned a corner. Officials cite rising remittances, revived exports and growth in shipping and tourism as proof of a new economic foundation.

The optimism is not confined to Colombo. About 400km to the north, the Tamil heartland of Jaffna also looks forward to better days. Saravanamuthu Velusamy, president of the bus transport owners' association in Jaffna, waits eagerly at the Myliddy port for Anura, who is visiting the city to launch the third phase of the harbour development. Saravanamuthu, who operates a daily bus service from Kankesanthurai to Jaffna, says his income has steadied. "I suffered during the Covid lockdown and later during the economic crisis. But now, as the fuel price is steady, my income is steady, too. I was able to repay my loans," he says.

Saravanamuthu is confident that the Anura government will push inflation down further and that fuel prices will eventually return to pre-Covid levels. His friend Arulrathinam Anthony, who owns a fishing boat, shares the optimism. "It is just a year since Anura took over.

The ruling National People's Power coalition has promised to reduce prices and support Tamils," he says.