QR code-related issues for fuel to be resolved by tomorrow - Minister Bimal

Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayake announced that issues related to obtaining QR codes for fuel will be resolved today (19) and should be fully sorted out by tomorrow (20). During a Parliamentary session, he mentioned that fuel use in some areas has nearly doubled compared to normal levels. The Minister explained that the challenges with QR codes mainly affect people who have older vehicles but use new phone numbers, as well as those with new vehicles linked to old phone numbers. He promised that these problems would be fixed by the end of the day. However, he noted that no issues have been reported for users with older vehicles using old phone numbers or new vehicles using new phone numbers. The Minister shared that about 7 million people registered in the QR system in 2023, and this number is likely to grow to around 7.2 million this year. Currently, approximately 5.5 million users have signed up under the system. He also mentioned that around 2.7 million outdated records were deleted from the previous database in just two days. Minister Rathnayake indicated that some fuel stations have sold up to two and a half times their normal amounts, which is straining storage and distribution. He reassured the public not to panic, expressing his belief that things will return to normal by tomorrow. To help manage the increased demand, the "odd-even" numbers fuel distribution method has been introduced, though he noted the QR system can handle distribution effectively on its own. Furthermore, the Minister clarified that vehicle owners without number plates can still get fuel by showing one of the following documents: revenue license, emission certificate, vehicle registration certificate, or insurance certificate, as all of these include the vehicle registration number.