Other state vehicles take e-pass at Nilgiris borders

COIMBATORE: Tourists coming to the Nilgiris were allowed entry at check posts only after they furnished e-pass made mandatory by the district administration from Tuesday.

Multiple teams of revenue department staff and police personnel deployed in check posts across the district checked tourists for e-pass. Tourists coming from Coimbatore were screened at Kallar, Burliar and Kotagiri check posts.

On the Tamil Nadu-Kerala interstate check posts, teams were deployed in the eight check posts including Nadukani, Thalur, Pattavayal and Nambiar Kunnu to check the inbound tourists.

“Almost 95 per cent of tourists from Kerala who came to Ooty through Gudalur were unaware of the e-pass system introduced by the administration. They were guided by the revenue department staff to get an e-pass online with their mobile phones. Several commercial vehicle drivers were also unaware of the system,” said an official.

For the convenience of tourists, the revenue department has put up banners with information on registering in the portal – https://epass.tnega.org/ and QR code scan for availing e-pass at check posts.

As the Kakkanalla check post on Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border is located inside a dense forest, network issues hampered the process of online registration for getting the e-pass. Therefore, revenue staff and police personnel screened vehicles in the Theppakadu area in Mudumalai.

After inspecting the process of establishing a check post near Kallar, District Collector M Aruna sought the views of hill-bound tourists on the introduction of the e-pass system. Addressing the media, the collector said the system is meant to gather details of vehicles and tourists coming to Ooty to determine the ecological pollution caused by the tourism sector and to take up development works.

“Those coming without an e-pass are guided to register by the revenue staff. Tourists and vehicle drivers told me that the process of registration for e-pass is simple. Any issues in it will be addressed with utmost importance. Vehicles registered in the Nilgiris, public transport system, and government department vehicles are exempted from availing e-pass,” she said.

Tourists urged the administration to deploy more teams to speed up checking to ensure that they do not queue up in check posts for long. Till Monday, around 21, 446 vehicles have got e-pass to enter the Nilgiris from May 7 to June 30.