The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has intensified action against encroachments and unauthorised parking along national highways to enhance road safety. It said that unauthorised parking, roadside encroachments and unregulated activities pose significant risks to road users and disrupt traffic flow. The authority reported identifying 595 critical locations of unauthorised parking and recording their latitude and longitude coordinates for targeted action.\n\nNHAI has asked field offices to work with state governments, district administrations and enforcement agencies to remove unauthorised parking and clear carriageways. It has ordered immediate audits of ATMS installations and required that traffic monitoring cameras, video incident detection systems, variable speed detection systems, variable message signboards and emergency call boxes be operational. The audits are intended to verify functionality and improve incident detection.\n\nDeployment of ambulances and recovery vehicles and enhanced highway patrolling have been prioritised to enable faster incident response and safer travel for national highway users. NHAI said integration of ATMS alerts with enforcement agencies and proactive maintenance of safety infrastructure are being prioritised to reduce response times. The authority underlined the need for coordinated action to achieve lasting improvements in safety and traffic management.\n\nNHAI has signed an agreement with Reliance Jio to deploy telecom based safety alert systems across national highways as part of wider road safety measures. Travellers will receive advance warnings through SMS, WhatsApp and high priority calls and the system will be integrated with digital platforms such as the Rajmargyatra mobile application and the emergency helpline number 1033. The alerts are planned to notify Jio mobile users on or near national highways before they enter hazardous zones.\n\nThe authority said it expects these measures, combined with enforcement drives, to improve traffic flow and reduce risks from roadside parking and encroachments. Continuous audits, technological integration and coordination with state and district bodies have been listed as ongoing priorities to maintain safer travel on the national highway network. NHAI will monitor outcomes and adjust operations as required to protect road users.