Hero Cycles founder Om Prakash Munjal breathes his last in Ludhiana

Ludhiana: Om Prakash Munjal, co-chairman of Hero Cycles Ltd and a leading industrialist passed away in Ludhiana today. He was 87. Munjal breathed his last in the Dayanand Medical College Hero Heart Centre, his family said.[caption id=“attachment_2391742” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] OP Munjal. Screengrab from YouTube[/caption] “Rightly known as the father of the cycle industry in Ludhiana, Munjal was under treatment at the hospital for past few days.” — The Times of India reported . He is survived by a son and four daughters. Munjal’s cremation will take place on Friday in the Model Town Extension Cremation ground in Ludhiana. From a modest beginning of bicycle spare parts business in Amritsar in 1944 with his brothers to being one of the largest bicycle manufacturers in the world, OP Munjal, known as the father of cycle industry in the country, scripted a successful business story. The Hero Cycles factory was set up in 1956 in Ludhiana with a capacity for producing 25 cycles a day. It now produces nearly 19,000 cycles daily. Listed in the ‘Guinness Books of World Records’ in 1986 as the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world in 1986, Hero Cycles commands nearly 48 percent of market share in the country’s cycle market. On 20 July, Hero Motors Group, which includes flagship company Hero Cycles, had elevated Pankaj Munjal as its chairman and managing director. Pankaj took over from OP Munjal, who led the Ludhiana-based company for more than 60 years. Om Prakash Munjal was also elevated to the position of Chairman Emeritus simultaneously. As soon as the news of Om Prakash Munjal’s demise spread, Twitter was soon filled with heartfelt homage to the man behind India’s bicycle revolution: https://twitter.com/MadhumitaBasu/status/631753554076680192 https://twitter.com/kamalsharmabjp/status/631732983427239937 https://twitter.com/Nitinsharma631/status/631741351902621696 https://twitter.com/JoonAnil/status/631742793187094528 https://twitter.com/MadhumitaBasu/status/631753554076680192 With PTI & IANS inputs