Bihar Election 2025: Once known as “Bihar ka Kolkata”, the small town of Mokama, nestled along the southern banks of the Ganga in Patna district, was once a humming industrial hub that symbolized progress, prosperity, and pride. It’s 2025 and still the mainstream political parties have reposed their faith in dreaded names and couldn’t find honest faces to win the election.
It was in Mokama that Bihar’s first major bridge across the Ganga — the Rajendra Setu — connected north and south Bihar for the first time. The foundation stone was laid by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, India’s first President, and the bridge was inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1959 — a milestone that transformed Mokama into a gateway of industrial Bihar.
But today, those factories that once defined Mokama’s skyline lie abandoned — rusted machinery, empty workshops, and fading signboards stand as reminders of a lost industrial dream.
From Industrial Powerhouse to Economic Wasteland
In the 1960s and 70s, Mokama flourished. The Bata factory, the Railway Wagon Repair Workshop, and the McDowell’s distillery were the town’s economic pillars. Thousands of local families found stable livelihoods.
Small businesses — tea stalls, snack shops, tailoring units — thrived around the factories. “Even a samosa stall had eight or nine helpers in those days,” recalls Ramesh Prasad, a 78-year-old resident of Mokama Bazaar.
Of the nearly 60 legal gun factories in the country, there are 36 gun manufacturing units in #Munger and of them four have already downed their shutters while several others are on the verge of closure. #Industriesinbihar
17/n pic.twitter.com/dLd59EteBA
— Dr. Ritul Sinha (@ritulsinha99) May 21, 2020
According to the Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) archives, Mokama was among the earliest notified industrial clusters in the state. It once employed over 10,000 workers directly and indirectly through its manufacturing units.
By the 1990s, however, the winds of change turned harsh. The wagon factory slowed production due to poor modernization, Bata relocated, and McDowell’s scaled down operations. One after another, the factories shut their gates — leaving thousands jobless.
Rise of Crime, Fall of Industry
As industries declined, crime filled the vacuum. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Mokama became notorious as a gangland stronghold. Local politics and criminal networks merged, giving rise to powerful figures who ruled the area through fear.
Mokama’s name began to feature more in crime bulletins than in industrial reports. Extortion, land disputes, and political rivalry turned the once-busy industrial town into a symbol of Bihar’s law-and-order crisis.
Ghost Factories and Vanishing Youth
Today, the remnants of those factories stand like ghosts of a forgotten era. The once-busy Bata compound is covered with weeds. The McDowell distillery chimney still rises — silent and cold. The wagon repair units have long stopped clanging.
Local youth now migrate to Patna, Delhi, Surat, and Punjab, seeking work in factories and construction sites. Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) show that unemployment in Patna district (which includes Mokama subdivision) hovers around 9–10%, higher than the national average.
A Town Searching for Revival
Despite the decline, hopes for revival flicker. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has upgraded road connectivity under the NH-31 project, linking Mokama more efficiently to Patna and Begusarai. The government has also proposed modernization of Rajendra Setu and construction of a parallel rail-cum-road bridge to ease transport.
However, industrial investment remains minimal. Analysts suggest that without clean governance, infrastructure renewal, and security assurance, no investor will risk returning to the town once celebrated as the industrial heart of Bihar.
Legacy of Lost Glory
For older residents, Mokama’s decline is not just economic — it’s emotional. They remember the days when trains stopped here with workers, when factories lit up the night sky, and when the town’s name meant progress. Today, only silence and nostalgia remain.
However, it’s not only the criminals or politicians who are to be blamed for this downfall. The people are also responsible for their doomed fate. They are responsible for electing goons and making them sit at the top. As Bihar votes again on November 6 and 11, it’s again up to the people to decide their fate – through ballot and not bullet.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
