Four Killed in Assam Highway Crash as Illegal Truck Parking Defies Supreme Court Order

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Four persons lost their lives when the Bolero car they were traveling in hit a cement-loaded truck parked on the side of the National Highway in the Sonapur area in the wee hours today.

The Supreme Court, as often as not, asked the central and state governments, besides the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), to address the menace of rampant parking of trucks by the sides of national highways. Today's accident that claimed four lives has yet again proved that the authorities concerned in Assam have not taken the apex court's directive seriously.

Very few district authorities in Assam have issued prohibitory orders regarding the parking of trucks on the sides of national highways. However, a section of district commissioners has not taken the order of the Supreme Court with the right earnestness. On May 19, 2026, the Nagaon District Magistrate issued a prohibitory order under Section 163 of the BNSS. The order said, "It has been observed that the unauthorized and haphazard parking of heavy commercial vehicles on the main carriageways and paved shoulders of national highways passing through the jurisdiction of Nagaon district is causing severe bottlenecks and obstruction to free-flowing high-speed traffic and an imminent threat to human lives… No heavy vehicles shall park, idle, or stop on any main carriageways, slip roads, or paved shoulders of the highways except at designated truck bays or marked wayside amenities."

The Nagaon District Magistrate made mention of the April 13, 2026, order of the Supreme Court regarding unauthorized parking of heavy trucks on national highways.

Since the transportation of goods to all states of the Northeast from the rest of India takes place through Assam, the plying of trucks in Assam is very heavy, with around 20,000 trucks plying every day on average. This is the reason why eateries, dhabas, etc., have bobbed up on either side of highways in Assam. Haphazard parking of trucks near such eateries is a common sight, even on the main carriageways. Around 40 percent of accidents take place in the state due to collisions with roadside-parked trucks.

In its order, the Supreme Court entrusted the responsibility of streamlining the parking of heavy trucks on national highways with the state governments and the NHAI. Any leniency on the part of the state governments and NHAI will have a direct impact on vehicle drivers, commuters, and even pedestrians, the apex court said.

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