1.2L e-passes issued, vehicles flood Chennai

1.2L e-passes issued, vehicles flood Chennai

System Crashes Amid Heavy Load, Most Seek Passes For Work, Marriage-Related Travel

D Govardan & Ram Sundaram TNN

18.08.2020

The Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA) on Monday issued a record 1.12 lakh auto-approved e-passes to individuals after the state government relaxed restrictions for passes for inter-district travel. Any individual applying for an e-pass will get it after submitting either Aadhaar card or ration card details.

“There was a heavy load on the system following which there was a glitch for about 15 minutes or so. Later, it was resolved. Other than that, the process went on without any interruptions since the e-passes were auto-approved for individuals,” a state government official told TOI.

According to the official, the passes were issued under the individual category. He said this was the highest figure in a day till date. But the district wise data was yet to be compiled. “It was almost evenly distributed across districts,” the official said.

“Work-related travel was one of the prominent category, followed by marriage-related travel. These two categories probably will account for the highest number of passes issued, almost 50%,” the official said, while adding that the district collectors must have been holding back marriage parties for long.

Authorities expect the number of applications for e-passes to come down on Tuesday. “Right now, these passes are auto-approved. But the government may review the decision in the coming days. We will wait and watch on further course of action,” the official said.

The number of e-passes issued could be gauged by the 19,000 vehicles that entered Chennai through the two major toll plazas at Paranur and Sriperumbudur till 6pm. Officials the number was double of that witnessed during the lockdown before the e-pass norms were relaxed. With more people from southern and western districts getting their e-passes approved on Monday afternoon, the influx is likely to increase by another 80%-100% by late night on Monday, an official with National Highway Authority of India said.

The increase in traffic resulted in congestion at toll plazas on GST Road and Chennai–Bengaluru national highway, and choked Vandalur and Perungalathur where vehicles piled up for over a mile on Monday morning.

At the Paranur toll gate, people could be seen returning with their household items packed into boxes. “Not only cars, people returned to Chennai for work on their bikes,” said a police officer.

Tamil Nadu Lorry Owners Association member G Ganesh, based out of Singaperumalkoil, said the traffic congestion from 4am affected movement of essentials like milk and vegetables into Chennai.

Further, police were not deployed in adequate numbers to handle the situation, especially since some people thought the e-passes were now not required. These people were made to wait on the roadside, apply for passes and then enter Chennai. “The situation could be the same for the next 15 days as more than 30 lakh vehicles had left Chennai during the lockdown,” he said.

RUSH HOUR: Vehicles choke the highway near Vandalur on Monday