COIMBATORE: The Tamil Nadu government has made e-pass mandatory for visitors seeking to enter Valparai from Wednesday. The decision was taken based on the recommendation of Coimbatore district Collector K Rajamani.
The government has been restricting visitors to hill stations in the State with e-passes continuing to be mandatory for travel to The Nilgiris. However, as Valparai falls under Coimbatore district, travel to the hill town had not been specifically restricted.
The Collector’s recommendation was aimed at preventing an influx of visitors into the hill town amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
"People from other districts are required to getting e-pass to enter Valparai. People from other taluks in Coimbatore district will be permitted to enter Valparai taluk based on their needs," the Collector said, adding that only a limited number of e-passes would be cleared daily. Sources said that only 400-500 e-passes will be issued for people from other districts and they would be allowed to stay at the hill town only for a maximum of two days.