Industry, on Sunday, condoled the death of noted industrialist and R.P. Goenka group founder Rama Prasad Goenka.
Birla clan patriarch Basant Kumar, and his wife Sarala, in a statement said: “We are extremely grieved to learn of the sad demise of R.P. Goenka. Our association with Ramababu goes back to several decades.
“He was a very close family friend of ours. Ramababu was an exceptionally intelligent and a highly successful personality. In his death, not only Bengal, but India has lost one of its prominent sons”.
Kishore Chhabria, Chairman of Allied Blenders and Distillers Pvt. Ltd, who once fought a bitter battle for the control of Dunlop Tyres with R.P.Goenka, said in a message: “I can’t believe that RPG is no more. I had the privilege of interacting with him and was always overwhelmed by his visionary approach and modest personality. Goenka had been a towering personality in Indian industry and will be sorely missed by all.”
G.P. Goenka, brother of RPG and Chairman of Duncan Group, said he was at a loss. “It’s a personal loss. He was my brother, after all. I have no words beyond this”.
S. Gopalakrishnan, President, CII, said: “One of the tallest business leaders has passed away from our midst and India has lost one of the doyens of business.” CII has had the benefit of Goenka’s visionary thoughts and guidance from time to time on matters of policy and issues, which ensured that industry always moved in a progressive way in the country, he added.
Noted Bengali author Mani Shankar Mukherjee, who writes under the pen name of ‘Shankar’, worked with R.P.Goenka for nearly three decades after Goenka acquired Dunlop in 1984. Though Goenka later lost control of Dunlop, Shankar remained a confidante.
“RPG always believed that a verbal promise carries more weight than a written one. A man is known by how well he keeps his word. It’s advice that has been with me forever,” Shankar told presspersons.
Harsh Neotia, Chairman, Ambuja Neotia, said: “He (RPG) was a statesman with sound business advice and had sought to revive an ailing economy with successful takeovers.
“He was successful in reviving them too.”