Moratuwa

In early July, one of those who received the group's social media messages was Sathya Charith Amaratunge, a marketing professional living in Moratuwa, some 20 km from Colombo, who had taken part in earlier anti-government protests.

Early on July 9, marketing professional Amaratunge said he started off on foot from Moratuwa with around 2,000 fellow protesters, about the size of group he had expected after a week of sharing posts on Facebook and ������sApp.

MORATUWA, Sri Lanka — Life for Hasun Peiris began to unravel a year ago under the pull of powerful forces he didn’t understand.

Tharanga Dissanayake, a computer programmer whose household in Moratuwa, south of Colombo, uses an average of 200 units of electricity per month, said that investing several hundred thousands rupees on solar energy panels was not a smart option for him.

"Solar is still not very popular because entry level costs are high and it does not make economic sense to low-end consumers," said Thusitha Sugathapala, an energy specialist at the University of Moratuwa.