Anil Agarwal bereaved

Mining baron, Anil Agarwal's father has died. He was 87. "Deeply shocked & saddened by the passing away of my beloved father, Sri Dwarka Prasad Agarwal. An irreplaceable loss to me and my family," Agarwal, Executive Chairman of Vedanta Resources Ltd tweeted.

Agarwal, who made his first fortune in scrap metal, grew in Patna where his father made aluminum conductors in initial years. For the last three decades, senior Agarwal was associated with the Vedanta Foundation - the philanthropy arm of the Vedanta Group.

He died in Mumbai on Thursday afternoon and his last rites are scheduled for Friday. Anil Agarwal, who was in London when his father passed away, is flying to India.

Sources close to the family said senior Agarwal led a very active life and did a lot of charity and philanthropy work. He led a very active social life, looking after educational institutes run by Vedanta Foundation. Sources said he had no major ailment and old age was perhaps the reason for his death. He regularly attended office and monitored Vedanta Foundation's work.

"Babuji had always been my guiding light, not a day went by when I didn't speak to him, seek his guidance & blessings," Anil Agrawal tweeted. "He touched and inspired many lives with his selfless work for communities. He will always remain with us and bless us as we try and follow his path." Anil Agarwal, who turned a tiny scrap metal business into London-headquartered Vedanta Resources, was ranked 38th richest Indian on the Forbes rich list in 2019.

In a message to group employees, Anil Agarwal said his father, fondly known as Babuji, was "a man of great stature despite humble beginnings, and lived each day of his life for everyone else. He always held clarity close to his heart, and did all he could to help and support people and communities around him". "He was a beacon of inspiration for many, especially for us, and all our family members he leaves behind," he said. "He performed all his duties and worked to his capacity until the last moment of his life."

Stating that his father was an energetic and enthusiastic man, Anil said his father leaves behind a great legacy of learnings to imbibe - hard work, dedication, and largeness of heart to support poor and needy. "He will always live on in our hearts and prayers. He will be guiding all of us and the entire Vedanta family from his heavenly abode, now and forever," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)