COLOMBO: Pratheem, a 43-year-old minibus driver, said he’s slept in his car since last week to avoid leaving the queue

In Sri Lanka, huge queues of vehicles waiting for fuel have become a common sight, as the country reels from a deep economic crisis that has left it unable to import enough.

One queue, beginning in the commercial heart of the capital Colombo, and snaking round alongside a seaside strip of road, continues for 5km. Close to the front, driving a minibus, is 43-year-old Pratheem. He has been waiting in line for 10 days.

“I’ve been sleeping in the car since last Thursday,” he tells the BBC as he inches towards the petrol station. “It’s so hard but what can I do… I won’t even get a full tank.”

Pratheem works driving tourists around. In the past he would take them across the country, but now he can’t do longer journeys and restricts himself to making trips to and from the airport.

The petrol he’s queued up for, for so long, will allow him to do the journey around three times, before he has to line up once again.

Pratheem’s son or brother will come and relieve him for a few hours at times to allow him to go home, but others in the queue can’t even do that.(BBC)