A division bench of the Madras High Court has mandated that all vehicles seeking to enter these two hill stations must obtain an e-pass between May 7 and June 30. The district collectors will use this e-pass system to collect data on the number of vehicles entering the ghat roads, the number of tourists in each of these vehicles, and the duration of stay of these visitors, and more.
This info will be used by a team of experts, including a professor of IIM (B) and the IIT (Madras) to fix the carrying capacity for the ghat roads. Local residents will not be required to obtain these e-passes.
Why did the Madras High Court venture into this issue of e-passes? What are the differences in the restrictions between now and the COVID pandemic? What were some of the previous attempts to fix carrying capacities in tourist destinations?
Presentation: D. Suresh Kumar
Production: Shibu Narayan
Video: Thamodharan B.
