NHAI Pilots Real-time Stray Cattle Alerts on Select Highways

16 Jan 2026 CW Team

As part of its road safety initiatives during Road Safety Month 2026, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has launched a pilot project to provide real-time safety alerts to commuters approaching stray cattle–prone stretches on National Highways. The initiative, implemented in collaboration with telecom service providers, aims to reduce accidents caused by sudden cattle movement, especially during foggy and low-visibility conditions.

The pilot is being rolled out on the Jaipur–Agra and Jaipur–Rewari National Highway corridors, which have been identified as high-risk zones for stray cattle movement. Under the project, location-based alerts will be triggered for highway users approximately 10 km before such vulnerable stretches, giving drivers sufficient lead time to slow down and take precautionary measures.

During the pilot phase, safety advisories will be delivered through a Flash SMS followed by a voice alert to ensure effective communication. The Flash SMS will be issued in Hindi, warning commuters about cattle-prone areas and advising cautious driving, with a subsequent voice message conveying the same information. To avoid alert fatigue, repeat notifications will not be sent to the same user within a 30-minute window.

The initiative leverages telecom technology to deliver timely and targeted advisories based on mapped cattle-prone zones identified through historical accident data and field-level inputs. The alerts are being enabled through upgraded telecom infrastructure, with Reliance Jio enhancing its platform to support nationwide delivery of real-time safety messages.

Based on the pilot’s performance and effectiveness, NHAI will assess the feasibility of extending the initiative to other stray cattle–prone stretches as part of its broader efforts to improve road safety and enhance the user experience on National Highways across the country.

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