Vehicles line up at Gudalur check post as e-pass system takes effect

COIMBATORE: Vehicles queued up for 3 km at the Nadukani check post on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border in Gudalur in the Nilgiris due to stringent e-pass checks following court restrictions on the entry of tourist vehicles into Ooty on Tuesday.

Over 100 vehicles, including cars, buses, and vans from Malappuram in Kerala, lined up on the Ghat Road due to a delay in the process of issuing clearance for vehicles at the check post. As there were only a few staff members in the check post, it took longer to manually check for e-passes of tourists.

Many tourists who came without an e-pass were denied entry through the check post. They also faced difficulty in registering for the pass at the ghat stretch due to poor signal connectivity.

District Revenue Officer (DRO) M Narayanan inspected the process and said that boards with QR codes will be placed along the Ghat Road for the convenience of tourists to register at the spot and proceed with their plans.

Vehicles going through Kallar and Kotagiri were screened for e-passes at Kallar and Kunjappanai check posts. Similar checks were done on other inter-state borders of Kerala and Karnataka at Choladi, Thaloor, Pattavayal, Nambiar Kunnu, and Kakkanallah.

The court capped vehicle entry to Ooty at 6,000 on weekdays and 8,000 on weekends until the peak tourist season in June. The e-pass system was made mandatory on May 7.

Meanwhile, the traders' body has announced a shutdown of shops in the Nilgiris for a day on Wednesday, demanding to scrap the e-pass system, which has taken a toll on the tourism sector.