PUNE: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has intensified action against unauthorised parking and encroachments along national highways, with several stretches in Pune district emerging as major trouble spots due to persistent illegal parking of heavy vehicles.NHAI has intensified action against unauthorised parking, encroachments along national highways. ((PIC FOR REPRESENTATION))The nationwide initiative, aimed at improving road safety and ensuring smooth, obstruction-free traffic movement, is being undertaken in compliance with the Supreme Court directions and forms part of the NHAI’s larger effort to create safer and more efficient highway infrastructure.Senior NHAI officials from the Pune region said that illegal parking has become a recurring problem along key stretches such as Kadgaon on the Pune-Ahilyanagar (Nagar) highway, Khed-Shivapur and Wakad on the Pune-Bengaluru highway, and the Talegaon-Chakan stretch on the Nashik highway.“Unauthorised parking of heavy vehicles and encroachments along these stretches have been affecting traffic flow and increasing the risk of accidents,” an NHAI official said.The official added that NHAI has decided to hold meetings with the police department and local authorities to launch coordinated action against illegal parking and encroachments along national highways.Across the country, NHAI has identified 595 critical locations where unauthorised parking has emerged as a safety concern. The authority is working in coordination with state governments, district administrations and enforcement agencies to clear encroachments from these locations and prevent their recurrence.NHAI officials said that encroachments are also being removed under the provisions of the Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002. To strengthen enforcement, the authority is working with state governments to establish district highway safety task forces and appoint nodal officers for better inter-agency coordination and continuous monitoring of safety issues.As part of the initiative, NHAI has directed its field offices to audit all advanced traffic management system (ATMS) installations and ensure that critical safety infrastructure, including traffic monitoring cameras, incident detection systems, variable message signboards and emergency call boxes, remain fully operational.The authority is also prioritising deployment of ambulances and recovery vehicles, enhanced highway patrolling and integration of ATMS alerts with enforcement agencies to improve incident response and ensure safer travel for highway users.Officials said that the initiative reflects NHAI’s commitment to strengthening road safety and ensuring seamless passenger and freight movement across the country’s national highway network.