Kakolat waterfall set for a ₹23-cr facelift

Kakolat waterfall, a popular tourist destination in Bihar’s Nawada district, will get a facelift with additional amenities at an estimated cost of ₹23 crore, officials said.

The new amenities include a cafeteria, changing room, washroom and parking. While the approach road to the water fall will be widened, there’s also a plan to install an escalator to make the trip to the waterfall easy and convenient.

“We have prepared a blueprint and started working on it,” Aditya Kumar Piyush, subdivisional magistrate( SDM) of Rajouli in Nawada district said.

The 150-foot-high waterfall at Kakolat hill is known for its scenic beauty. The site also draws a large number of pilgrims during the month of Vaishakh because of the popular belief that the Pandawas of the Mahabharata age had visited this site during their Vanvaas (exile) period. Despite the high flow of tourists and pilgrims, the site lacks basic tourism amenities.

Last month, chief minister Nitish Kumar had visited the waterfall and directed officials to develop the site.

“Its tourism potential has not yet been fully tapped because of the influence of extremists in this area. The first thing needed in this area is to improve the law and order situation. So nearly a dozen Home Guard jawans have been deployed at the waterfall site,” the SDM said.

Nawada division forest officer, Sanjeev Ranjan, said, “Parking space for vehicles is also a big issue here. At present, there’s no identified parking lot,” he said.