NHAI on Wednesday launched a pilot project to give real-time alerts about stray cattle on highways to help prevent accidents. The project is being tried on the Jaipur–Agra and Jaipur–Rewari highway stretches, which often see cattle movement, especially during fog and low visibility. The initiative is part of NHAI’s road safety measures being rolled out during ‘Road Safety Month 2026’ and is being implemented in collaboration with telecom service providers to deliver timely safety alerts to highway commuters.
Pilot corridors and alert mechanism
“Under the pilot project, location-based alerts will be triggered for the National Highway commuters, providing advance warnings approximately 10 km before identified high-risk stretches. This will provide commuters with some lead time to take precautionary measures,” NHAI said.
To ensure effective communication, safety advisories during the pilot phase will be delivered through a Flash SMS, followed by a voice alert. The Flash SMS alert will be issued, stating that a stray cattle–prone area lies ahead and advising commuters to drive slowly and carefully, followed by a voice alert conveying the same safety message.
To prevent alert fatigue among commuters, repeat alerts will not be issued to the same user within a 30-minute window.
Telecom support and future rollout
The initiative will leverage telecom technology to deliver timely and targeted advisories, thereby improving driver awareness and enhancing safety on National Highways. Alerts will be generated based on mapped cattle-prone zones identified from historical accident data and field-level inputs.
“As part of the initiative, Reliance Jio has upgraded its platform to enable nationwide delivery of these real-time stray cattle safety alerts,” NHAI said. Last month, NHAI had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Reliance Jio to introduce a telecom-based safety alert system across the National Highway network.
Based on the outcomes and effectiveness of the pilot project, NHAI said it will evaluate the possibility of scaling up the initiative to other stray cattle–prone zones as part of its ongoing efforts to improve road safety and enhance user experience on National Highways across the country.
FAQs
Q: What is new initiative announced by NHAI?
A: In order to reduce the accidents that are caused by sudden cattle movement, NHAI has introduced a pilot scheme that aims to warn the users of National Highways in real-time about the approaching areas where stray cattle are likely to be found.
Q: Which highway sections are included in pilot project?
A: The pilot is being carried out on the stretches of National Highways that connect Jaipur with Agra and Jaipur with Rewari.
Q: What will be process of alert communication to the commuters?
A: The commuters will be alerted through a Flash SMS based on their location followed by a voice alert as they draw near to the designated stretches with high risk.
Q: How advanced will the warnings be issued?
A: Warnings will be activated roughly 10 km ahead of the commuters getting into areas with stray cattle.
Q: How will the problem of alert fatigue be tackled?
A: The same person will not receive a repeat alert during a period of 30 minutes.
Q: Will the project be implemented on other highways too?
A: After the pilot project has finished, NHAI will assess the level of effectiveness and decide whether to spread the project to other areas in the country where cattle are a problem.
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