Lira Raja Rathor

Kalyanji Ramji Rathor (1912-1995) was a leading Gujarati businessman and mill owner from Raipur, India.

He was born in 1912 to Ramji Ruda Rathor in a Kutchi famliy belonging to Mestri community hailing from Khambhra village of Kutch. The family preferred to use Rathor surname although original surname was Bhalsod.

Ramji Ruda and his brothers Kheta Ruda, Raja Ruda formed a syndicate like many of their community members to join hands for railway contracts jobs and acquiered substanital wealth to later become coal mines owner, owning a coal mines in Jharia and Hazaribagh coalfields belt in 1914. Ramji also owned mines and properties in Saro near Bhadrak in Orissa. The family later established at Raipur in 1936 and acquiered substanital landed properties in town of Raipur, which included landmarks like Jairam Talkies at Sharda Chowk, Ramji Building at Jai Stambh Chowk and Ramji Mansion at Fafadih. They founded one of the first pulse mill, rice mill and flour mill, cold storage in Raipur., cinema halls in which along with Ramji their brother Kheta was also a partner. Kalyanji's father Ramji died in 1936 and Kalyanji became head of Hindu Undivided Family to head the business established. Kalyani Ramji also eatblished rice and flour mill at Fafadih near Raipur raliway station and was the managing director of the firm Raipur Flour Mills Limited. In 1944, Kalyanji Ramji became sole owner of all the mills following a family settlement, where in he purchased the shares from Jairam Kheta and Laddharam Kheta and his brother Dhanji Ramji and established himself as a leading mill owner and financier of the town with family interests spread in mills, ice factory, coal mining, hotels, cinema talkies and financing.

His elder brother, Lira Raja Rathod (1889-1972), son of Raja Ruda Bhalsod, who owned the Raja Bhawan at Fafadih at Raipur, later shifted of Calcutta and established himself as major landlord of town. He built now major landmarks of town between the years 1925 to 1945. They are buildings - Raja Chambers at Strand Road, Raja Terrace at Sir R. N. Mukherjee Road, Raja Mansion at Sir R. N. Mukherjee Road, Raja Court at Sir R. N. Mukherjee Road, Raja Bhawan at Chittaranjan Avenue and Godawari Bhawan at Heysham Road in Bhowanipore. Lira Raja also owned with Nanji Khengarji of Anjar - the New Katras Coal Company located at Katras near Dhanbad.

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