Border checkposts in Nilgiris to soon have automatic number plate recognition cameras

Nilgiris District Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru said the major border checkposts in the Nilgiris will soon have automatic number plate recognition cameras, as the district administration aims to streamline the monitoring of the mandatory e-pass system.

The announcement comes in the wake of the Madras High Court recently expressing dissatisfaction over the implementation of the e-pass system in the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal for not recording accurate data on the entry of vehicles into the two hill stations.

The system has been in place since April of this year in the Nilgiris, introduced just prior to the summer tourist season to collect data for studying the carrying capacity of the two hill stations.

Speaking to reporters here, Ms. Tanneeru said that automatic number plate recognition cameras are to be installed at all major border checkposts in the Nilgiris to streamline the system and ensure more accurate data collection. In the first phase, cameras will be installed at the checkposts at Kallar, Kunjapannai, Nadugani, and Kakkanallah, announced Ms. Tanneeru.

Recently, the Burliyar checkpost, which witnesses the highest amount of traffic in the Nilgiris from Coimbatore district, was moved to Kallar to facilitate easier monitoring of vehicles. The checkpost, which already has automatic number plate recognition cameras, also has better mobile connectivity. Due to wider road width at the location at which it has been set up, it causes fewer traffic issues, officials stated.

The other checkposts in the Nilgiris, apart from the four where cameras are to be installed, have minimal vehicle inflow and will be monitored manually, officials stated.