V.SESHASAYEE A MEMOIR
Thiru V.Seshasayee was born in theyear 1890 in the village of valadi, a suburb of Thiruchirappalli. He came from a middle class family of modest means.V.Seshasayee studied in St.Josepf’s High school until he matriculated fromthere. Impressed by the intelligence and technical accumen of ThiruV.Seshasayee, Mr.Winter, chief Electrical and signal engineer of the southIndian Railway recruited him as an apprentice that gave Thiru V.Seshasayee anopportunity to learn many new things. In fact he helped Mr.Winter to devise the‘Block System’ which has been used by the Railways ever since.
Thiru V.Seshasayee and Thiru R.Seshasayee with a couple of friends set up a small engineering workshop called“ The Seshasayee Brothers Engineering Works” and repaired oil engines,automobiles,generator set installation, etc. they made a mark especially mnedby rectifying and commissioning a electrical generator set, battery and an icemaking plant in the palace of Raja Dinakar followed by temple lighting atRameshwaram, Madurai and in the houses of rich Nagarathers of Devakottai,Karaikudi and kanadukaththan. The firm also developed first passenger with Mr.Carter fof Addison &Company.
A public limited company was formedunder the name and style of ‘The Tiruchy Srirangam Electric supply CorporationLimited and almost simultaneously similar company in Devakkottai by the nameSri Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Electric Suply Corporation Limited to distributeD.C. They established the first A.C supply system in the state in Devekottai in1927 and Tiruchirappalli in 1928. By 1934 the Tiruchirappalli power station andbecame the biggest diesel power station then in South India and number ofdiesel power stations sprang up in various cities.
Thiru V.Seshasayee saw the wisdom ofhydro power schemes as the ultimate solution for State’s rapidly increasingpower needs and engaged in a hydroelectric power generation utillzing thewaters of pykara in Nilgiris so that a statewide grid could be set up and hydropower distributed to all the cities than the costlier oil power. ThiruV.Seshasayee’s enterprise vision foresight and continuous cooperation with theGovernment were primarily responsible for the robust electricity supply systemwe have today.
Thiru V.Seshasayee successfullycommissioned a small Caustic Soda plant, the first of its typein India atMettur Dam known as Mettur Chemicals for which the then Madras Government hadoffered special attractive power tariffs. Today this factory is one of India’sleading producers of Basic Chemicals like Caustic soda, Bleaching powder,Liquid chorine and other related products. Thiru V. Seshasayee assisted incommioning a 50000 ton Sulphate plant in Travancore using electrolyticprocesses and also diversified the end products to Urea and Ammonium Nitrate.
Thiru V.Seshasayee actively promotedthe exploitation of gypsum mining in trichy district and assisted inestablishing salt manufacture inAthirampathinam and Vedharanyam. He formed “Seshasayee Industries Limited” andestablished a 1200 ton high insulater factory with an associated forging shopand a foundry at Neyveli in south Arcot District and around 5000 people wereemployed. In these industries directly. As an outcome of his enterprise, theSouth Indian public essentaily interested in agriculture, grew industrialminded and started lending support to entrepreneurs who followed in his waySouth India has been fairly well drawn in the industrial map of india.
Thiru V.Seshasayee was an activemember of the Co-operative movement. He formed a building Co-operative society nearly 50 years ago, in Tiruchirapplli which built housesworth over rupees 30 lakh for middle class people. As its Director since inception,and President from 1939 to 1958, heencouraged his staffs to form small Co- operatives for their various needs likeprovision shops, credit and loan society, etc. Thiru V. Seshasayee wasunostentatious, business like, and friendly to all with a keen sense
Of justice and fair paly. He look to hisresposibllities as a businessman very seriously with out any compromise. Hedied on 19th October, 1958.