LOW income earning households are beginning to make sacrifices as the country braces for what could take weeks for normalcy to return in the midst of an uncertain global fuel crisis.
For Sheetal Prasad, 33, and 65-year-old Usha Kiran of Wailea Settlement in Vatuwaqa, this reality has already set in. The pair, along with three other family members, have been forced to abandon gas and kerosene for cooking, turning instead to firewood.
“We have to struggle and make ends meet, by using outside firewood stove and cut back on our wants,” said Ms Kiran.
Their situation reflects a wider concern among ordinary citizens who say they are ill-equipped to absorb further increases in fuel costs. With five people depending on a single household income, every price hike tightens the grip on an already stretched income.
“We are not fortunate enough to be able to withstand or endure this increase in fuel price, so we have no option but to use firewood for cooking,” said Ms Prasad.
The shift to firewood, often in wet and uncomfortable condition, highlights the difficult trade-offs families are making just to put meals on the table.
As global pressures continue to influence fuel prices, concerns are mounting that more families could be pushed into similar circumstances.
“We urge the government to think of us low income earners, those of us that cannot handle the increase in price,” said Ms Kiran.
