News
Vavuniya app keeps underground trade in check
View(s):Amid the thriving underground fuel trade, a team led by a newly-appointed development officer of the Vavuniya Divisional Secretariat designed a web-based application to ensure the limited fuel supply is fairly distributed among people and staff of essential services.
Thusitharan Panchalingam explains the workings of the app Pix by Romesh Madusanka
The team led by Thusitharan Panchalingam, a graduate of applied mathematics and computing at the University of Jaffna, designed the app, ‘Fuelometer’, which records details such as vehicle type, fuel, last purchase history, and volume purchased along with details of the filling station.
“Initially, there was some opposition from black market operators when we introduced this, but once the public became aware of it, they supported it,” Mr Thusitharan told the Sunday Times, while noting that since the app launched two weeks ago, underground traders were held at bay to a significant extent.
Once a resident from Vavuniya town pumps fuel at a selected station, he or she will not be allowed to get fuel for the next four days. “We had to send back some of those who returned since we have their fuel purchasing history,”
Following the success of this mechanism, other Divisional Secretariats in Trincomalee, Mullaithivu, Badulla, and Anuradhapura sought assistance from the team to adopt a similar platform to resolve the fuel crisis in their areas as well.
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