No major hassles on first day of new e-pass system rollout in the Nilgiris

E-pass system in Nilgiris ensures hassle-free experience for most visitors, with minor traffic issues and thorough vehicle checks.

With the e-pass system coming into force in the Nilgiris from Tuesday, it was a largely hassle-free experience for most visitors who had procured the document prior to their arrival.

At the Kallar checkpost, the busiest of the 15 checkposts linking the Nilgiris to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Chamarajanagar in Karnataka, and Nilambur and Sultan Bathery in Kerala, most of the visitors were already aware of the necessity of getting an e-pass prior to their arrival. There were minor traffic issues, and staff employed by the district administration thoroughly checked vehicles for banned plastic products.

While most tourists seemed to have a hassle-free experience, a few people who had been planning visits not related to tourism faced confusion about the new system. One such visitor was Prashanth Aiyappa from Coorg, whose children are studying in the Nilgiris. Mr. Aiyappa said that while he had managed to get an e-pass to pick up his children for a dental appointment outside the Nilgiris, he could not apply for another e-pass to re-enter the district as the portal does not allow more than one e-pass application per month.

“The Nilgiris district administration needs to detail the rules of the system and give us some clarification on whether people like us can enter if we produce documents from the school, for instance,” Mr. Aiyappa said.

Another visitor said that while they were allowed to choose an entry date, they were unable to pick an exit date during the months of May and June. Residents and business owners said the litmus test for the system would be during the coming weekends and the peak summer season, when the demand for e-passes is expected to skyrocket.

On Tuesday, the Nilgiris Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru and Superintendent of Police N.S. Nisha visited the checkposts at Kallar and Kunjapannai to ascertain ways to further streamline the process.