New Delhi: In the latest effort to curb unrest arising out of the economic crisis, Sri Lanka has declared a 36-hour nationwide curfew from Saturday evening.

This comes close on the heels of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declaring a public emergency amidst a spate of protests against severe shortages of essential supplies.

Meanwhile, Indian traders have started loading 40,000 tonnes of rice for prompt shipment to Sri Lanka in the first major food aid.

The Indian Ocean Island nation of 22 million people is struggling to pay for essential imports after a 70% drop in foreign exchange reserves.

Fuel is in short supply; food prices are rocketing and protests have broken out as Sri Lanka's government prepares for talks with the International Monetary Fund amid concerns over the country's ability to pay back foreign debt.

The rice shipments could help Colombo bring down rice prices, which have doubled in a year, adding fuel to the unrest.

"Rice loading has started in southern ports," said B.V. Krishna Rao, managing director of Pattabhi Agro Foods, which is supplying rice to Sri Lanka State Trading (General) Corp under the Indian Credit

Sri Lanka has become a net importer of rice as its production fell after Colombo banned all chemical fertilisers in 2021, a move that was later reversed.