Saroj Goenka, wife of the late Bhagwan Das Goenka, only son of Express group's founder and the doyen of Indian journalism, Ramnath Goenka, passed away in Chennai on Friday morning at 1130 am.
She was 94.
Saroj Goenka was also the aunt of Manoj Kumar Sonthalia, the Chairman and Managing Director of The New Indian Express.
She was born on August 29, 1929 to the late Shreyans Prasad Jain, a prominent businessman and member of the Rajya Sabha, after whom Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's SPJIMR (Shreyans Prasad Jain Institute of Management and Research) is named.
Saroj Goenka was a director of Express Infrastructure Limited.
The company developed Chennai's famous Express Mall situated on Mount Road.
Other projects launched by the company include E Residences, E Hotel and EA Chambers.
She had also served as Managing Director of Express Publications (Madurai) Limited.
A noted philanthropist, she had donated to many noble causes, including handing over a cheque for Rs 1 crore to then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa when Chennai was hit by unprecedented floods in December 2015.
In 1998, she had also gifted a 10-acre property where the Swami Dayananda Krupa Home that takes care of the differently-abled now stands.
Saroj Goenka is survived by her three daughters, Arati Agarwal, Ritu Goenka and Kavita Singhania.
The three of them are also directors of Express Infrastructure Limited.