Colombo: The Sri Lanka Parliament has passed the state of emergency regulations with claims to seize hidden food stocks amid soaring prices of food and essential items. The emergency regulations issued by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on August 31 to control the prices of essential commodities and stop hoarding.

The ruling Gotabaya Rajapaksa government passed the state of emergency with majority votes, with the opposition complaining that the law is a danger to democracy, rights and freedom of expression as the same law could be used to suppress dissent voices against the government.

Rajapaksa had on August 30 gazetted state of emergency as a means to maintain food supplies and essential services during the Covid-19 pandemic. The President also appointed a senior military official in a new post titled Commissioner General of Essential Services to control the distribution of essential consumer goods, including paddy, rice and sugar.

The emergency move followed sharp price rises for sugar, rice, onions and potatoes, while long queues had formed outside stores because of shortages of milk powder, kerosene oil and cooking gas. The military and the authorities have been seizing food stocks and confiscating warehouses with paddy and sugar. The wide-ranging measure was also aimed at recovering credit owed to state banks by importers.

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