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Palghar flags 25 black spots and 53 illegal cuts on Mumbai–Ahmedabad Highway

The Palghar district administration has stepped up Palghar NH-48 road safety measures on the high-speed Mumbai–Ahmedabad National Highway following a surge in fatal accidents. Directives were issued to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and relevant state agencies during a high-level review meeting chaired by Palghar Collector Dr. Indu Rani Jakhar. Attended by representatives from MoRTH, the police, Highway Safety Patrol, RTO, PWD, Health Department, Zilla Parishad, and Resilient India, the meeting established immediate deadlines for implementing comprehensive Palghar NH-48 road safety measures.

According to official statistics released at the meeting, authorities have identified 25 critical accident-prone black spots, which accounted for 117 accidents and 108 fatalities between 2023 and 2025. Across all highways in the district, 746 accidents occurred between 2022 and 2026, leading to 449 deaths and 301 injuries. To mitigate these figures, officials outlined strict Palghar NH-48 road safety measures designed to rectify infrastructure flaws at these high-risk zones without delay.

As part of the updated Palghar NH-48 road safety measures, NHAI has been instructed to install CCTV surveillance connected to a central control room across all 25 black spots. To give drivers advance warnings, these dangerous stretches will also be mapped onto Google Maps. Furthermore, district authorities have mandated specialized technical studies to analyze recurring crashes near the Charoti flyover and investigate risks associated with tanker and chemical transport vehicles operating along the corridor.

Emergency medical dispatch protocols form another primary pillar of the Palghar NH-48 road safety measures. NHAI currently maintains six ambulances and four patrol vehicles along Palghar’s highway segment, and has been ordered to submit GPS tracking logs within seven days. Highway police and NHAI are now formulating a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to strategically relocate emergency vehicles and cut ambulance response times to under five minutes.

Addressing physical highway hazards, the district administration has prioritized closing 53 unauthorized median openings as part of the ongoing Palghar NH-48 road safety measures. Teams are replacing compromised dividers with metal-beam crash barriers and heavy-duty New Jersey barriers. To protect this infrastructure, NHAI has been authorized to file criminal charges against individuals who damage barriers, while mandating that any damaged safety structures be repaired within seven days.

These comprehensive Palghar NH-48 road safety measures aim to upgrade physical infrastructure, streamline traffic management, and reduce emergency response times on one of Western India’s vital transport arteries. The district administration confirmed that progress will be monitored against strict deadlines, holding executing agencies accountable for bringing down fatality rates on the Mumbai–Ahmedabad corridor.