Team-BHP - All Roads to Kerala

Did a Kerala - Bangalore yesterday via Walayar. Cops were checking for RT-PCR negative reports at the border. They were diverting all private cars to the service lane and the only question asked was RT-PCR report. Nothing else. Show the report and move on. There was no other check whatsoever on the entire stretch, not even at Atebelle.

Left kodungallur at 5.40 am, had an hour break for breakfast in Coimbatore and reached Bannerghatta Road at around 2 pm. Peaceful drive.

Update as on 10th August 2021.

Walayar:

Travel towards Coimbatore has been a mixed bag for the last week. All the passenger vehicles are positively directed to the service road. All commercial vehicles and some two wheelers (Those who are able to explain they are daily commuters) are allowed without the detour.

Please keep the E Pass on you as well as either RT/PCR or Vaccination certificate. One of my colleague's cousin reported that in absence of RT/PCR two doses certificate, they were made to stay and get tested for COVID and ZICA. I have fortunately not been subject to those. In fact today while i was looking for the E Pass and my company ID to show, the cop noted the AGV logo on my helmet and started discussing on what model of Helmet i was using. Then we went on discussing on the newer Models like AGV K6 etc. Guess enthusiasts come in all shapes and sizes and professions. The cops have been reasonable for all of the past week but this event did take the cake.

Also for those planning to take L&T Bypass, please be aware of scraping and Resurfacing is happening in this stretch. Yesterday a stretch of around 2 Km from the toll near Eechanari Karpagam college was being resurfaced and all traffic was filtered through a single lane. So expect delay of 15-20 minutes on this account if you plan to travel during daytime. Work continues today. Towards weekend, i will update in this thread if the work is getting completed for the benefit of those who plan weekend travel.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 5121671)

Bummer. I'm driving to Kerala later this month for Onam - I suppose it makes more sense to drive through Coimbatore city instead of taking the bypass (given that my expected arrival time at Coimbatore will be after 9 PM)?

Sir, from what i saw, they completed scraping and resurfacing a small stretch on the same day. So at night you might have no interruptions. Also going by the pace, i think the work will be completed before Onam. I will keep this thread updated with the progress of this work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj (Post 5122545)

Any inputs on what exactly is being checked at Walayar towards entering Kerala. Is the RTPCR enough or do they actually look at the E-Pass print out?

Requoting my earlier post. Depending on the time of the day and the crowd at the borders you can expect tough scrutiny or casual check up. You can either show the printout of even the mobile. On crowded days they barely glance at these documents. On free days, they take time to read it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rohitoasis (Post 5096938)

I would like to add a bit. Between the two journeys listed in post #13414 (27th June) and #13415 (7th July), One thing that has changed is the volume of vehicles. Since i have been doing a daily commute. I have seen an increase in the number of vehicles at least 5-6 times of what it was in the Month of June.

One thing that good for the travelers is that if we show a little bit of inclination to show some documents, we are usually allowed to move on. So you can show the E Pass and either of these reports either in printout or in mobile and you are let go.

One bad thing is if we happen to reason and engage in discussion, the wait tends to get tedious because the number of the police are limited and they are juggling their attention between your documents and a bunch of others evading checking. They are really at their edge. For sake of providing real time updates on this thread. I try to ask them queries. But this entire week, they barely glance the document and move on to the next case.

What remains same is their insistence on RT PCR report. From what i had shared in the earlier post, even antigen report should do.
Only people with regular travel pass are let go without the need of RT PCR or antigen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj (Post 5122545)

Been trying to register on Jagratha from yesterday, but the OTP is not coming. Will try later tonight, but wanted to understand what checking is being done.

I think it has to do with server load. I tried just now. OTP came in less than 30 seconds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj (Post 5122545)

Any inputs on what exactly is being checked at Walayar towards entering Kerala. Is the RTPCR enough or do they actually look at the E-Pass print out?

Been trying to register on Jagratha from yesterday, but the OTP is not coming. Will try later tonight, but wanted to understand what checking is being done.

I did an overnighter on Friday, from Bangalore to Kerala. No checking anywhere in TN. The KL cops insist on only the RT-PCR report - they verified the result and the date. The E-Pass from COVID19 Jagratha was not checked. Traffic was thin, so we exchanged some pleasantries. While showing the print-out, the cop noticed my dashcam and he asked me about it in those few minutes. The interaction was extremely cordial.

Used to do frequent Palakkad-CBE runs last month, I concur with what @rohitoasis has posted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand (Post 5121671)

My suggestion: avoid going through the city. L&T would be the known devil.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rohitoasis (Post 5122604)

Thanks for the update. I tried from mobile and was got the OTP instantly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by silversteed (Post 5122733)

Thanks. One other question I have is regarding the '72 hr' RT PCR window? Do they check to the exact hour? My brother ended up giving the sample for test today morning for a Saturday drive. Technically it would be more than 72 hrs when we reach the border. Would that be an issue?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj (Post 5122764)

One other question I have is regarding the '72 hr' RT PCR window? Do they check to the exact hour? My brother ended up giving the sample for test today morning for a Saturday drive. Technically it would be more than 72 hrs when we reach the border. Would that be an issue?

I would've given the sample on Thursday morning for a Saturday drive. The labs do not start testing exactly at the time they collect the samples - my experience has always been like this: sample is collected early in the morning, before 9 AM, I get the result in the evening but the sample collection time printed on the report is anywhere between 11AM to 3PM.

The cops have been quite reasonable, so a couple of hours can be squeezed out, me thinks. But do wait for others to pitch in before deciding on the next course of action.

Did a Quick trip yesterday to Palakkad and back to Ernakulam. As the Kuthiran Southbound traffic is through the newly commissioned Tunnel, noticed an advantage even for the North bound traffic too; North bound traffic passing through the Original route, does not have any oncoming traffic; thus have ample width to safely overtake slow moving vehicles. Further, as the total traffic is reduced to half, there is no crowding and the cars can conveniently pass through Kuthiran Hills at a decent safe speed. :)