International soccer player Ajay Singh and his archer wife Angela Singh run with the Queen’s Baton in Bokaro on Thursday before it reached Mohan Kumar Mangalam Stadium where schoolchildren participated in a colourful cultural programme. Pictures by Pankaj Singh

Bokaro, Aug. 5: Over 45,000 residents of Bokaro, including 15,000 school children, welcomed the Queen’s Baton here chanting “Bharat Mata ki jai” amid bouts of sharp showers on what was a sunny and hot day.

For nearly four hours, children with Tricolours waited along the Baton’s 10 km route as the relay team made its way through Bokaro Steel city, Chas and then to the aerodrome.

After a minor hitch at Dhanbad, where its journey had to be stalled at a roadside dhaba to kill time, the Baton entered Bokaro city limits at 11.05 am at Telmaccho bridge to be received by Bokaro DC Nitin Kulkarni and SP Saket Singh.

Seeing the huge turnout, both the DC and SP climbed onto an open truck and held the Baton as high as they could.

The Baton’s journey was momentous in that the entire route was lined with school children who kept cheering the relay till Chas Dharmashala crossing.

There, it was received by the Chas municipality chairperson, 63-year-old Ganga Bhalotia. She passed it on to CRPF commandant S.M. H.I. Malik who handed it over to Saket Singh once again.

The Baton passed several hands, including those of soccer international Ajay Singh, his wife and archer Angela Singh — she is sister of soccer icon Baichung Bhutia — Indian Kabbadi team manger Bepin Singh and coal belt DIG U.K Singh.

At Bokaro aerodrome, the Baton was received by Bokaro Steel MD S.S Mohanty at 1.10 pm.

The Baton then moved to Bokaro Niwas and began its next journey after a break of around one-and-a-half hours. Among those who ran with it were Chinmaya School principal Hema Biswas, SAIL football coach S.K Otwani, weightlifter Anita Kumari, Rajesh Pathak, S.K. Sharma and flutist Chetan Joshi.

Around 3.15pm, it started to rain. Undeterred, DPS principal Hemlata Mohan ran with it amid thunderous applause from school students.

After covering over 6 km in two hours, the Baton then reached Mohan Kumar Mangalam Stadium where students of Chinmaya, DAV, KV School, Bokaro Steel Plant School and others presented a cultural programme.

At the stadium, Kulkarni honoured Alphonsia Raj Thangaraj, wife of former soccer international Peter Thangaraj amid a huge ovation.

“This was one of the best organised functions where everything went according to plan. The crowd, too, was disciplined,” said Colonel Dharam Singh Mahecha as he was seconded by Captain Chetan Singh Chauhan.