In Shariatpur, the district administration has introduced an innovative initiative to prevent the artificial shortage of fuel. From now on, customers must use a special app when purchasing fuel at pumps, where they are required to input the pump name, vehicle registration number, type of fuel, and quantity. This information is automatically shared with all filling stations across the district, ensuring that a biker cannot purchase fuel more than once per day from any pump.
According to local administration sources, there are a total of six filling stations in the district, with significant daily demand for diesel, petrol, and octane. Due to recent global developments, a shortage in fuel supply has emerged, prompting some unscrupulous groups to collect excess fuel from multiple pumps and stockpile it. As a result, genuine customers were facing difficulties.
Addressing the situation, District Commissioner Tahsina Begum said that authorities had identified individuals visiting multiple pumps to collect and hoard fuel. “This increases their stock while reducing ours, depriving genuine customers and creating an artificial crisis,” she said. “To tackle this issue, we have developed a special app using Google, where all pumps are listed and three required options must be filled in before purchasing fuel. As a result, one biker can collect fuel only once per day from a pump. No one can stockpile fuel anymore. We are continuously monitoring the app through designated tag officers.”
Under this app-based system, if a customer attempts to purchase fuel from another pump after already receiving it from one, the system detects it and blocks further transactions. This has significantly reduced the opportunity for excessive collection and stockpiling.
Motorcyclists and pump operators have responded positively to the initiative. They noted that it not only reduces harassment but also ensures fair access to fuel based on actual needs.
Mehedi Hasan, Manager of Messrs Glory Filling Station, said the app is highly effective, as it restricts fuel purchases to once per day. “There are separate options for petrol, octane, and diesel, and the biker’s registration number must be entered. If a biker tries to collect fuel from multiple pumps in a single day, the app detects it,” he said. “If this initiative continues, no one will be able to stockpile fuel in the future.”
DBTech/JNU/MUIM/OR
