Letters: Back to the future

I was pleased to read Dilip Satapathy's report, "Tata Steel plans to add 6 mt in capacity through brownfield expansion" (October 1), about the company deciding to increase the installed capacity of its existing plants in Jamshedpur and Kalinga-nagar from 10 million tonnes to 11 million tonnes and from three million tonnes to eight million tonnes respectively.

The report took me back to the early 1950s when J R D Tata was pleading with Jawaharlal Nehru, the Planning Commission and various regulatory authorities to allow his company to expand the installed capacity from one million tonnes to two million tonnes, which would not only add much needed steel output but also offer jobs to a large number of unemployed youth at that time. It was a Herculean task to convince a socialist-minded society and the public sector-oriented government to grant permission.

It was perhaps in 1955 that news came to Bombay House that the Planning Commission and the industries ministry had relented and allowed Tata Steel to expand the capacity by one million tonnes at its Jamshedpur plant. From the workers at the Jamshedpur steel plant to the high rungs of management, there was jubilation all around.

Tata Steel appointed the US company Kaiser to undertake the major part of the expansion work, as the requisite advanced technology was not available in India at that time. About 100 new bungalows were built side by side of the airport to accommodate the technical staff, who came to Jamshedpur from the US. These houses were fully furnished. This area was called Kaiser Colony. One Fiat car was allotted to each of these expatriates. These cars were known as Kaiser Fiats. A few of them still run in Jamshedpur. Kaiser bungalows are now a prized accommodation option in Jamshedpur.

Nirupam Haldar, Kolkata

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