Bokaro

State

Bokaro, situated on the Chhota Nagpur Plateau, is an Industrial city and is the home of the largest steel plant in India. It has vast rolling topography of the city is typical, strewn by graded valleys and winding streams.

History

Formerly there was a village named Maraphari(it is also pronounced as Marafari) deep in the jungles of Chota Nagpur. The closest village cluster was Chas. Purulia was the closest town and the area was ruled by the Maharaja of Kashipur. Folk lores have it that this area came under Mughal rule by the conquests of Man Singh. The region was named ManBhoom after him (VeerBhoom and SinghBhoom are the neighbouring regions also named after him, Veer Man Singh).
This remote place came into prominence when Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru planned to build the first swadeshi steel plant with the help of the Soviets. The proximity to coal, iron ore, manganese, and other raw materials had helped in the selection of this place. The steel plant was originally incorporated as a limited company on 29 January 1964, and was later merged with SAIL and came to be known as Bokaro Steel Limited(BSL). The late 1960s and early 1970s saw heavy construction of the steel plant as well as the township. The first blast furnace started on 2 October 1972.
The Sector III and Camp I and II were the first to come in the township followed by Sectors II, IX, IV and so on. The first private school came in the form of St. Xavier's School which the Jesuits from Hazaribagh built on invitation from the BSL management. The 1980s saw rapid development of the township with new sectors coming up, new schools, parks, zoos and other public amenities coming up. Township development ceased with the completion of IV/F and IV/G. In all Bokaro Steel City consists of 12 sectors out of which sectors VII & X do not exist.
The late 1990s saw sprucing up of the City Park and creation of islands, new schools and the success of Bokaro's students in all India level competition exams, specially IIT's. During this period Bokaro also emerged as the eastern hub for academics. Bokaro also boasts of having a unique cosmopolitan culture as the population consists of people belonging to all parts of India.

Accessibility

Air: There is no direct air connection but SAIL is having a private air belt at Bokaro.

Rail: Bokaro is near Dhanbad, which is on the main Delhi-Howrah railway line.

Road: Well connected with all the major cities by good motor able roads.

Accommodation

Bokaro Hotel, Bokaro, Tel # 40873.
Hotel Blue Diamond, Naya More, Bokaro, Tel # 40299 / 40277 / 40155.
Hotel Classic, Sector - 4, City Centre, Tel # 42216 / 42448.
Hotel Hans Regency, Sector - 1, Near Ram Mandir, Tel # 40896 / 40899
Hotel Hill Top, Sector - 4, City Centre, Tel # 47198 Hotel Linkas, Near Ram Mandir, Bokaro, Tel # 40896 / 40902

District
Bokaro District
STD Code
06542
Best time to visit
September to February
Famous For
Bokaro Steel Plant