Sri Lanka to slap road tolls as budget bites

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka for the first time has decided to slap tolls on cars entering the capital in a bid to discourage oil consumption amid a widening trade gap fuelled by costly petroleum imports, officials said on Sunday. The government decided to impose an entry fee for cars as part of belt tightening measures in the face of unprecedented oil bill that is already causing pressure on the country’s balance of payments and foreign reserves. Transport ministry officials said a date for starting the toll had not been decided yet as the government also wanted to set up a better public transport system within city limits to encourage motorists to leave their cars at home. “By the introduction of certain economic measures we are making the society more conscious of the crisis and discouraging fuel consumption gradually,” Finance Secretary BP Jayasundera told the state-run Sunday Observer. afp

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