NHAI Launches Initiative to Build Shelters for Stray Cattle on Highways to Mitigate Accidents

New Delhi, Dec 24 (NationPress) To improve road safety and tackle the issue of accidents caused by stray cattle, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has initiated a pilot program to establish shelters for cattle along national highways.

According to an NHAI announcement, this initiative is designed to create a safer travel environment for drivers while ensuring the care and management of stray animals found along these routes.

The shelter areas will vary from 0.21 to 2.29 hectares, and the pilot project will be strategically placed to provide safe havens for stray cattle, thereby minimizing their presence on national highways.

Implementation of the initiative will occur on multiple national highway segments, including from the Uttar Pradesh-Haryana border to the Rohna section of NH-334B, where shelters will be established along the Kharkhoda Bypass.

Additionally, shelters will be constructed along the Bhiwani-Hansi section of NH-148B at Hansi Bypass, the Kiratpur-Ner Chowk section of NH-21, and from Dangiyawas to Jajiwal on the Jodhpur Ring Road (NH-112).

To carry out this initiative, NHAI has formalized an MoU with the current concessionaire, Gawar Construction Ltd.

Under this agreement, Gawar Construction Ltd. will construct the cattle shelters on the land designated by NHAI.

The concessionaire will also be responsible for maintaining these shelters, providing first aid, adequate fodder, water, and caretakers throughout the concession duration to ensure the animals' well-being.

Moreover, as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, the concessionaire will deploy cattle ambulances to transport and treat injured stray animals and establish first-aid centers and hospitals within a 50-km radius for timely medical care.

In addition to constructing and maintaining the shelters, the concessionaire will ensure the safe transportation of stray cattle to these facilities, provide them with feed, and uphold the provisions of the Cattle Trespass Act of 1871.

The MoU will remain active for the remainder of the concessionaire’s tenure.

Regarding the initiative, NHAI Chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav stated, "By addressing the challenges posed by stray cattle on the national highways, this unique initiative is another step that furthers NHAI's commitment to creating safer national highways for commuters while also fulfilling a humane obligation to care for stray animals. I am confident this initiative will set a new standard for holistic national highway infrastructure development in the country."

Ravinder Gawar, Director of Gawar Construction Ltd., expressed, "We are open to extending this initiative across all our NH projects and even on projects awarded to other concessionaires to establish more shelters in various regions nationwide."

NHAI has been contending with the dangers posed by stray cattle and animal movement on national highways across several states, which jeopardizes road user safety.

Despite previous attempts to remove cattle from the national highways, these measures have not achieved the desired success due to various ancillary issues with social implications, including challenges related to ownership, cattle transportation, healthcare, first-aid during transit for injured animals, and feeding cattle until their owners are identified or they can be handed over to state agencies.

Various courts in several states have also been eager to find holistic solutions to the challenges presented by stray cattle on national highways.

Although the root cause of this issue falls under the jurisdiction of various state government departments, NHAI has taken this initiative to address the matter within its own scope.