Rohtak city is a municipal corporation and district headquarters of the Rohtak district of Haryana State. Its geographical coordinates are 28° 54' north latitude and 76° 35' east longitude. It is located 70 km north west of Delhi and 240 km south of Chandigarh.
Rohtak is believed to have been named after Raja Rohtash who is believed to have built the city. The town was initially called Rohtashgarh which over a period of time became Rohtak.
Another legend says that the town derives its name from the Roherra (Tacoma undulate) tree called Rohitaka in Sanskrit.It is said that before the town came into existence it was a forest full of Rohitaka trees and hence the city's name became Rohtak.
The third story of the town says that the city came into existence around 500 BC. It was mentioned as Rohitaka Kūla, Rohitaka Giri or Rohitakapura in Vedic Text. The legendary tale says that the city is said to have been founded by Rohit, the son of the historic King Harish Chandra.
Rohtak city is known as the Heart of Haryana state. The small streams of Yamuna River irrigate the area. Rohtak is an earthquake prone area and was attacked by floods in 1995. The city has a number of reputed schools and colleges and is also known as an Education City. There are many Engineering and Pharmaceutical colleges located here.
Rohtak is an emerging industrial city with a number of big and small industries coming up here. The Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) have developed an Industrial Model Township (IMT) in Rohtak. There are many big industries in IMT. To name a few of them - Asian Paints Limited, Maruti Suzuki's Research and Development Plant, Hitech Plastics Limited, Footwear Design and Development Institute etc.
The Shouri Cloth market is one of Asia's biggest markets located in Rohtak and is an excellent place to shop.
The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) is developing the Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex in Sector-6 of Rohtak. The complex would include cricket, hockey and football facilities, tennis courts, an athletics stadium, wrestling hall, swimming pools and other leisure facilities.
The Rewari and Gajjak (dry sweets made of sesame seeds and jaggery) of Rohtak is famous all over India and overseas.
Sonipat at a distance of 45 kms is the nearest big town to Rohtak.
Known as the political capital of Haryana, the Rohtak district lies in the south-east of the state. With Rohtak town as the district headquarter, it has a total area of 1668.47 square kilometers and a population of approximately 9,40,000.
The district has an agrarian economy with 51.89% of the working population are engaged in growing crops like wheat, gram, sugarcane and bajra.
Rohtak district is a historical place with many historical sites, sculptures and buildings. No wonder, the tourists will love the area.