Iconic Ratan Tata ‘served tea to journalists’ during one of his three visits to Dhanbad

Subhash Mishra

Dhanbad, Oct 10: Ratan Tata, the iconic former chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Steel, visited the Tata Steel Jharia Division in Dhanbad three times between 1992 and 2001, leaving a lasting impression on the people of the coal belt, particularly the miners of Tata collieries.

His first visit to Dhanbad was in 1992, soon after he succeeded Russi Mody as chairman of Tata Steel. He returned in 1994 and made his final visit in 2001 to inaugurate the Dorabji Tata Park at Jamadoba, one of the finest parks in the coal belt.

During his 1992 visit, Tata toured the Jharia Colliery Division along with senior Tata Sons executives. A press conference was scheduled that evening at the Director’s Bungalow in Jamadoba, where Y.P. Dhawan was the director of the Jharia Division. However, a report published in a Kolkata-based English daily upset Ratan Tata. The report claimed that over 20,000 workers of Tata Steel and the Jharia Colliery Division would be retrenched under his leadership.

Around 75 journalists from national, regional, and local papers gathered at the Director’s Bungalow for the press conference. Initially, Ratan Tata refused to address the media, but after a long delay, he finally appeared, although he declined to engage in a Q&A session.

Sensing the media’s discontent, Tata took it upon himself to lighten the mood. He personally took a tea tray from a waiter and served tea to the journalists, especially senior coal belt journalists like Brahmdeo Singh Sharma (founder editor of Awaz), Satish Chandra (founder editor of Janamat), and U.D. Rawal, PTI correspondent.

Despite his high position as chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Steel, Ratan Tata’s simplicity and his ability to handle tense situations left a strong impression on the assembled media. All the senior officials of Tata Steel from Jamshedpur and the Jharia Division were present at the press conference held on the verandah of the Director’s Bungalow, but it was Ratan Tata himself who served tea and biscuits.

Tata Steel’s Jharia Division paid tribute to Padma Vibhushan Ratan N. Tata, who passed away on Wednesday. A memorial service was held today on the General Manager’s Office lawn. Among those present were Sanjay Rajoria (General Manager, Jharia Division), Sunita Rajoria, Narendra Kumar Gupta (Chief, Jamadoba), Vikash Kumar (Chief, Sijua Group), Santosh Mahato (Regional Secretary, Rashtriya Colliery Mazdoor Union), union officials, and company employees. They gathered at the General Manager’s Office and the Sijua Group Office to pay their respects.