30 Keralites stopped at border by TN cops who sought e-pass

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Utter confusion prevailed at Kaliyakkavila border on Tuesday morning when over 30 Keralites, who were returning to the state, were stopped by Tamil Nadu police despite them carrying Norka passes. The passengers were stopped citing that they did not carry electronic passes issued by the Tamil Nadu government. 

Passengers, including women, children and elderly people, were stranded at the border checkpost for over six hours. All of them were only allowed to cross the border after Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari district collectors and Parassala MLA C K Hareendran intervened. However, Tamil Nadu police made it clear that the relaxation was only for Tuesday and that there would be strict checking from Wednesday. The registration number of the passengers’ vehicles and their details were collected by Tamil Nadu police before leaving them.

As per the rules, passengers are required to carry passes issued by the concerned government fro interstate travel. Though the Tamil Nadu police asked them to register through the official website to get an e-pass, the server was down due to heavy web traffic. “Most of us had registered in the Norka website for the 7am to 10am travel slot. This also included medical emergency cases. But Tamil Nadu police were adamant and we had to wait there for many hours. When I tried opening the website of the Tamil Nadu government, it was down. When two passengers received phone numbers following persistent efforts to open the website, police did not allow them,” said Sandeep S of Enchakkal, who is working in Tamil Nadu. 

According to Neyyattinkara DySP M Anilkumar, Tamil Nadu police tightened the rules on Tuesday. They were adamant regarding not letting them cross the border without the pass, he said. “We could not do anything in the morning. Elected representatives’ timely intervention yielded positive results. Those returning to the state from Wednesday should ensure that they carry the Tamil Nadu government’s e-pass,” he said. District Collector K Gopalakrishnan said not just persons, but also vehicles should have an e-pass from the respective state.