Lakma Tharundi

The address system is a fundamental unit for development initiatives and service delivery. A systematic address system is essential for effective geocoding in Geographic Information System (GIS) which leads better decision making. The current address system of Sri Lanka has created many challenges for geocoding which is the process of converting addresses into geographic coordinate systems. This study discusses the challenges related to the present address system of Sri Lanka through an experimental study conducted through three scenarios. The dataset encompassed a record of 280 reported dengue cases within the administrative area of the Kandy municipal council. As the first scenario, unstructured addresses of dengue cases were trying to find through QGIS software package geocode options and identify the limitations of that process. It uses OpenStreetMap to identify the locations. In the Second scenario, the researcher used focused group discussions to identify the locations of dengue cases. The identification of correct location using these three scenarios were not feasible in a geocoding process of GIS. As a third step combine both two methods and try to figure out the accuracy level. This situation was led by the unstructured addressing system of the country. The study proposes that it is necessary to develop a unique code to identify the exact point of an address in Sri Lanka, without relying on traditional address methods. The new addressing system can be facilitated by the available data collected for the Bimsavia land deed system. Keywords: address system, geocoding, dengue, Sri Lanka, GIS, OpenStreetMap As the first scenario of the geocoding experiment, unstructured addresses of dengue cases were plotted using the available tools of the QGIS software package. In the second scenario, the study arranged the available addresses in a logical order and processed the geocoding query using the ezGeocode in Google sheet. In the third scenario, the researcher used focused group discussions to identify the locations of dengue cases. To accomplish this step, the researcher engaged with public health inspectors (PHI) who conducted on-site visits to the respective locations. And finally identify the accuracy level of these two locations and recognized the issues of these system to identify locations through the unstructured Addressing system,