The Sri Lankan government has introduced digital fuel passes in an effort to provide all citizens with fuel in an “orderly manner.”
Amidst fuel shortages, there have been fights at fuel lines and people have died due to heat and exhaustion after waiting for so long at the miles-long queues.
“Today we have introduced the national fuel pass. This will guarantee a weekly quota for each vehicle,” Power and Energy minister Kanchana Wijesekara said.
Sri Lankan’s were advised to register for the fuel pass at fuelpass.gov.lk using their ID number, passport or business registration number.
Other information like name, phone number, address, and the user’s vehicle are also required. One person is limited to registering one vehicle.
After registration, a QR code is generated, which must be presented to get fuel. One can save the QR code as a screenshot on their smartphone, or print it out on paper.
The energy crisis is a result of the country’s worst economic crisis. It is unable to afford essential imports including food, medicine, and fuel.
There have been many reports of violent incidents at fuel lines, and about 20 people have succumbed to exhaustion after spending days at the miles-long queues.
Due to the poor handling of the economic situation, Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was removed from power.
