Shikha YadavRanchi: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has identified 20 critical locations in Jharkhand where unauthorised parking and encroachments along national highways pose major road safety concerns, as part of its nationwide drive to improve highway safety and traffic management.The crackdown follows the Supreme Court’s April 2026 directions in the Phalodi accident case, which banned unauthorised parking of commercial vehicles on NHs and directed NHAI and state govts to remove encroachments, establish district highway safety task forces and strengthen surveillance mechanisms to improve road safety.In all, NHAI has identified 595 critical locations of unauthorised parking nationwide and initiated action in coordination with state govts, district administrations and enforcement agencies.According to an internal list prepared by NHAI, the 20 identified locations in Jharkhand are spread across Giridih, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Hazaribag, Ranchi, East Singhbhum and Dumka districts.The maximum number of vulnerable spots have been identified along NH-19 in Dhanbad and Giridih districts, including stretches between Gorhar and Khairatunda and the Khairatunda-Barwa Adda corridor. Other critical locations include Barhi Chowk, Nagwan Toll Plaza and Ichak More in Hazaribag; Rangamati, Irba and the Piska More-Palma stretch in Ranchi; and Baliguma and Dimna areas in Jamshedpur.“NHAI has formally written to the Jharkhand govt and district administrations concerned, seeking coordinated action for the removal of unauthorised parking and encroachments from national highway corridors,” sources in NHAI said.The sources added that unauthorised parking of heavy vehicles, roadside commercial activities and encroachments have been identified as major contributors to traffic congestion and accidents. “The objective is not merely enforcement but ensuring safer and smoother movement of passenger and freight traffic on the highways,” the sources said.NHAI has also directed its field units to audit Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) infrastructure, strengthen highway patrolling, deploy recovery vehicles and ambulances, and improve incident response mechanisms across the national highway network.Reacting to it, Dhanbad DC Aditya Ranjan said, “We will send a joint team comprising officials from the district transport office and the police to inspect the identified locations. Based on their report, appropriate action will be taken.“
