Kota Development Authority

Official Account of Kota Development Authority, Rajasthan | Building a planned, sustainable & citizen-centric Kota.

[Anant Ladha, CFA CA CFP LL.B. @anantladha25]

Surely sir it is one of the most beautiful places you will ever visit @anandmahindra

Welcome to Kota sir. Padharo sa 🤗🙏🏻

[Kota Development Authority @KDA_KOTA]

Thank you so much for this, @anandmahindra
Your first thought-"This is AI"-is truly the highest praise for our team at Kota Development Authority.
You asked if reality lives up to the pictures - it does.

Open invitation, sir.
We await your Wanderer list journey to Kota.

[anand mahindra @anandmahindra]

My first reaction on seeing this was: AI.

My second reaction, after checking: Good grief. It’s real.

This is the Chambal Riverfront in Kota.

For most of us, the name Kota probably brings to mind its huge coaching industry. And, sadly, the controversies around the intense pressure on students there.

But this is a side of Kota I had absolutely no idea existed.

2.75 km along both banks of the Chambal. Ghats, promenades, fountains and some fairly spectacular public spaces.

And apparently I’m not the only one who hasn’t discovered it. The riverfront is reportedly attracting only around 1,000 visitors a day.

Why haven’t we heard more about it?

Credit to Shanti Dhariwal, then Rajasthan’s Urban Development Minister, who drove the project, the Kota Urban Improvement Trust and architect Anoop Bartaria.

Judging from these images, it certainly deserves to be better known.

Kota just went on my Wanderer list.

Anyone been there? Does the reality live up to the pictures?

(Video & pic courtesy @ind_whitepill )

#SundayWanderer

[Kota Development Authority @KDA_KOTA]

Thank you so much for this, @anandmahindra .

Your first thought-"This is AI"-is truly the highest praise for our team at Kota Development Authority.

You are absolutely right. For long, Kota meant only coaching. Today, under the guidance of Hon'ble Lok Sabha Speaker @ombirlakota and the vision of the State Government, we are working to make Kota mean much more-a tourism capital and an industrial hub.

The Chambal Riverfront (CRF) was the first step-2.75 km on each side, with 26 ghats celebrating India.

The next steps are already underway, as envisioned by Hon'ble Speaker, Lok Sabha:

1. A Complete Tourism Circuit: The riverfront will be linked to our two tiger reserves - Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve(MHTR) and Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve(RVTR).
MHTR in Kota is recognised as the country's first traditional inland tiger reserve to launch a dedicated "water safari".
Ghats in the evening, jungle/water safari in the morning.

2. Connectivity: Kota is already on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and is well connected by rail. The Greenfield Kota-Bundi Airport, announced by Hon'ble Speaker Sir to be operational by 2027, will finally put Hadoti on the aviation map as well.
Kota also offers immense possibilities for industrial development with availability of water, electricity, connectivity and backed by progressive policies of the State Government.

3. Inviting Partners to Build the Future: We now want to take the CRF to the next level. KDA is inviting reputed private players to come forward to operate and maintain the riverfront on a lease/PPP model - be it the musical fountain, jetties, food courts, souvenir shops, light & sound shows and cultural programs.

You asked if reality lives up to the pictures - it does, but it will be even better when you see it as part of this larger Hadoti circuit.

I would be deeply honoured to personally host you. A sunset aarti at the riverfront, a morning Chambal water/jungle safari at Mukundra, and your ideas on how we build Kota as India's most loved student and industrial/tourism city.

Open invitation, sir.
We await your Wanderer list journey to Kota.

Bachanesh Kumar Agrawal, IAS
Commissioner, Kota Development Authority