'I have to sleep inside the tuk-tuk': Taxi mum struggles amid Sri Lanka crisis
Lasanda Deepthi cleans her "tuk-tuk" outside her home. But most of her day will probably be spent standing in queues outside petrol stations, with Sri Lanka currently facing fuel shortages as it combats a tough and debilitating economic crisis.
Taking a break, she has a sandwich and tea in preparation for a busy day of ferrying passengers, or so she hopes.
Life, in itself, has dealt a couple of tough hands for the 43-year-old.
Her father passed away when she was 14, leaving her to take care of her family. Married at 21, her husband then left her, leaving her to raise their daughter alone.
Deepthi turned to design jewellery to make ends meet. But carrying decorative gold was risky in public transport so she decided to buy a tuk-tuk of her own.
"My daughter and I travelled alone so I was concerned about our safety. When I started taking my daughter by vehicle there was more safety," the single parent told Reuters at her rented home in Gonapola on the outskirts of Colombo.
"Also, I could take other children to school as hiring passengers and earn more."
One of the earliest female tuk-tuk drivers in Sri Lanka, Deepthi said it was initially tough to jostle with male drivers for regular customers, but once she signed up with local ride-hailing app PickMe, life became much easier.
However, things have become increasingly tougher ever since an unparalleled economic crisis hit Sri Lanka, triggering acute shortages of fuel, domestic gas, kerosene, medicines, groceries and sending prices soaring in its wake.
Deepthi's income, which used to be approximately 30,000 Sri Lankan rupees ($83.30) a month, has fallen nearly 50 per cent because of the combined effects of lost time, currency depreciation and soaring prices of fuel, according to her.
"Because of the current crisis, we have to allocate more time," she said while waiting in a serpentine queue running nearly two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the petrol station.
"Sometimes, I have to sleep inside the tuk-tuk."
Deepthi was still queueing at the petrol station in the early hours of Thursday (May 26) morning, taking cover in her three-wheeler as the skies opened above her.
Her only wish and hope are for the current crisis to end, and for a sunny picture to return to her beloved country.