The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday announced the launch of a portal for registering to obtain an e-Pass to enter the hill stations of the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal from May 7 to June 30, as mandated by the Madras High Court.
Registrations on the portal – https://epass.tnega.org/ – will begin at 6 a.m. on Monday. An e-Pass is mandatory for tourists and commercial vehicles. There will be no restriction on the number of e-Passes issued to those visiting the two hill stations.
The Nilgiris Collector M. Aruna said that details such as the type of vehicle used by visitors, the number of visitors, the duration of the visit, the place of stay, etc., will have to be shared to procure an e-Pass, which is auto-generated. Residents of the Nilgiris who have vehicles registered outside the district should approach the Regional Transport Office in Udhagamandalam to procure passes for their vehicles, she said.
Dindigul District Collector M.N. Poongodi on Sunday said those intending to visit Kodaikanal hill station from May 7 to June 30 can obtain e-pass by accessing the website - epass.tnega.org, which would be activated from May 6 (Monday) onwards.
In a press statement, the Collector said that following the Madras High Court order, the district administration has made arrangements for issuing e-pass to the public visiting the hill station from other districts and States.
Tourists travelling by public transport have been exempted from obtaining the pass.
Putting at rest the confusion that public may not be able to visit the hill station and that there may be hindrances, the Collector said that to get the e-pass, the applicant has to furnish certain basic information such as his/her name, number of passengers travelling, vehicle type, place of stay, among others, from their mobile phone itself.
Foreign tourists can fill in the particulars through mail and get the e-pass.
Check point at Silver Cascade; three types of e-pass
The Silver Cascade shall be the check-point for all the incoming vehicles and hence the Collector appealed to the public to cooperate with the officials by keeping the particulars ready for smooth onward journey.
Officials from transport, police departments and Kodaikanal Municipality would be deployed for checking the e-pass.
The QR code attached with the pass shall give the details and the Transport Department would be responsible for upkeep of the record till June 30.
The e-pass would be issued in three different colours. For the local residents, green colour pass would be issued. For those carrying essential commodities and produce from farm and among others, blue colour pass would be given and for the tourists, it would be purple colour.
The local residents can obtain the e-pass by furnishing the details only once and that they need not repeat the procedure until June 30, the release added.
