Ooty: As per the order of the Madras High Court, restrictions on tourist vehicles going to Ooty and Kodaikanal came into effect from yesterday. Due to this, checks to see if they have e-passes were intensified, resulting in vehicles waiting for a long time on the mountain roads. Meanwhile, traders have announced that they will hold a strike in Ooty and Kodaikanal today to demand the cancellation of the ‘e-pass’ system. Usually, the sun is intense in the 3 months of April and May. Summer vacations also begin during these months. Due to this, many people travel to the hilly areas where it is cooler.. In Tamil Nadu, the two towns that are the most cool are Ooty and Kodaikanal.. Generally, people come to these two towns in large numbers.. They are a paradise for tourists. In summer, tourists come to Ooty and Kodaikanal in large numbers. Due to this, summer vacation is the livelihood of the people living in Ooty and Kodaikanal. E-pass system At the same time, traffic congestion is also common during the summer vacation season as the crowd is uncontrollable. In this situation, in order to protect the environment and control the number of tourists going to the Nilgiris, the e-pass system was implemented for tourist vehicles going to the Nilgiris from May 7th last year, as per the order of the Madras High Court. Restrictions on the Nilgiris Since the month of April has begun, the High Court has imposed restrictions and ordered that only 6 thousand tourist vehicles should be allowed on weekdays from Monday to Friday and 8 thousand vehicles on weekends on Saturday and Sunday. Kallar Check Post This restriction came into effect from yesterday, April 1. Accordingly, vehicles going to Ooty from Mettupalayam via Kallar and Kotagiri are allowed only after the police and revenue department check whether the e-pass is registered at the check posts there. Similarly, tourist vehicles are also being checked at the check posts at Gudalur Nadukani, Soladi, Thalur, Patavayal, Nambiar Kunnu, and Kakkanalla on the border of Kerala and Karnataka. Vehicles were stopped. Many vehicles were stopped on the mountain roads due to this check. People suffered greatly due to reasons such as not appointing adequate staff for e-pass checking and not making the e-pass system with QR code easy to collect immediately at the check points. Drivers suffered. Vehicular traffic was stopped because the police refused to allow the vehicles of tourists who had not registered e-passes to go to Ooty. Since it is a mountainous area, internet service was not available properly at the state borders adjacent to Ooty. Due to this, tourists faced great difficulty in not being able to get e-passes. Kodaikanal Similarly, restrictions came into effect for tourist vehicles going to Kodaikanal from yesterday. Accordingly, from yesterday to 30.6.2025, 4 thousand vehicles are allowed to enter Kodaikanal every day and 6 thousand vehicles on weekends. Vehicles going to Vattalakundu and Kodaikanal were allowed yesterday only after e-pass checking. Vehicles going to Kodaikanal via Vattalakundu were checked for e-pass at the Kamakapatti check post before climbing the hill. Vehicles coming to Kodaikanal via Palani Palani were also checked for e-pass at the Ayyambulli check post before climbing the hill. Only vehicles that had obtained e-pass were allowed to enter the hill. Due to this e-pass check, vehicles were waiting in long queues at the check posts. Due to this, tourists faced severe difficulties. Shops closed in Nilgiris Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Traders Association State Vice President A.J. Thomas, State Joint Secretary Abdul Razak, and District Additional Secretary Badusha met the media. At that time, they said that the e-pass system is in force for vehicles to enter the Nilgiris district. A general strike, including a 24-hour shop closure, is being held today (Wednesday) to draw the attention of the Tamil Nadu government, emphasizing 12-point demands, including the complete cancellation of this system. Appeal: All commercial establishments, including shops and hotels, are being closed in the Nilgiris district. In addition, tourist vehicles including autos, jeeps, cars, and vans will not ply. Due to this, tourists should avoid coming to the Nilgiris. The Nilgiris district administration has also assured that an appeal will be filed in court against the e-pass system within 15 days. Similarly, they said that an appeal will be filed in court on behalf of the Federation of Traders’ Associations.
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