Economic Crisis: Fate of Colombo's Second Hand Book stores in limbo?

COLOMBO (News 1st) - After the economic crisis hit, the prices of books spiked by over 50% due to import costs, forcing Sri Lankans to look for the alternative.

Almost every Sri Lankan knows about the Lotus Tower standing tall in Colombo built at a massive cost of USD 113 Million. 

But, this is not about a structure that added a colossal weight on to Sri Lanka's debt.

Tucked away not far from the Lotus Tower, is a line of book shops.

Now, these are not your ordinary books shops with publications fresh out of the press.

These are Colombo's second hand book shops that have been catering to book worms over the years.

One of the main reasons why these establishments are popular among readers, is that the second books here are cheap and are in good condition.

However, when Sri Lanka's economic crisis hit, these book stores were also in dire straits.

"Business is not that great because of the low number of customers. There is a demand for second hand books. However, it is below that what it was before. We used to import new books, but with the current status we cannot import. When these stocks are over, we as traders will have to face a more serious crisis," one trade told News 1st.

Secondhand bookshops in Colombo and its suburbs have for years been the haunt of bookworms in search of their favourite authors, and also students looking for cheaper alternatives for expensive textbooks. 

Some like the ‘old bookshops’ located on D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha in Colombo 10, known to generations have been a family business.

Some of these Book Store Owners told News 1st that customers often reach out to them for a lesser prices, however, given the present status in the country, a lesser prices is still considered high by many.

Note: News 1st's Nisal Sooriyarachchi, and Mahinda Gamage contributed to this report.