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'Ambani very much alive, but next 48 hours critical'

Syed Firdaus Ashraf and Priya Ganapati
in Mumbai

Dhirubhai Ambani, 69, chairman of the petrochemicals Reliance group and an icon celebrated in India for creating shareholder wealth for millions of people, suffered a stroke and a cardiac arrest on Monday evening.

Meanwhile, Vijay Krishna, chief executive officer of Breach Candy Hospital, said that "Dhirubhai Ambani is very much alive, but there is no change in the condition of Dhirubhai Ambani. He is on life support system and will remian so for the next 48 hours, which are very critical."

He did not clarify any further on the situation, saying it was up to the Ambani family to issue a statement.

Reliance Industries Managing Director Anil Ambani said his ailing father Dhirubhai, who suffered a 'brain stroke' on Monday night, is "making steady progress and his health is being monitored by an expert team."

Ambani, who was hospitalised following a stroke and a cardiac arrest, though ''critical'', is responding to treatment, according to sources close to his family. A team of doctors, including eminent neuro-physician N H Wadia and chest physician Farookh Udwadia, is attending to him.

Earlier, Capt C P Krishnan Nair, chairman of Hotel Leela Venture, told the reporters at the hospital, "Dhirubhai is progressing well and he has regained consciousness. He is aware of whatever is happening."

The business tycoon's sons Anil and Mukesh are with him. Though the hospital sources had initially stated that the senior Ambani had suffered a stroke, his son Anil Ambani, while talking to waiting journalists outside the hospital, confirmed that his father had suffered a cardiac arrest.

"We are all praying for his speedy recovery. We are moved by the number of people who have come to see us," Anil Ambani said.

He urged people to join him in praying for his father's speedy recovery and thanked all well-wishers who called on the Reliance patriarch at the hospital.

He requested the media persons to leave the hospital premises saying that an update on Ambani's health would be issued in the evening.

In the afternoon, Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel had told reporters that "Dhirubhai is unconscious and critical, and the waiting period is 48 hours."

The news sent stocks of Reliance Industries Ltd and Reliance Petroleum tumbling on Tuesday, but brokers said they did not expect the shares to suffer any serious long-term decline.

"The baton has passed on to his sons...so the impact on the stock will be limited to some emotional swings," said Ramesh Damani, a member-broker of the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Ambani's elder son Mukesh Ambani, vice-chairman and managing director, and younger son Anil, also a managing director, have been running the company for the past few years.

A Reliance spokesman had said in the morning: "Mr Ambani has suffered a stroke and has been hospitalised. He is in the Intensive Care Unit at the Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai, where he is under medical supervision."

Meanwhile, there was a steady stream of politicians, celebrities, bureaucrats and luminaries from the business world who visited the hospital to ask after the Reliance Chairman's health.

Superstar Amitabh Bachchan, Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh, Sahara India chief Subroto Roy, Shiv Sena leaders Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, and Raymond group CMD Gautam Singhania also visited the hospital on Tuesday to ask after Ambani's health.

Bajaj Auto chief Rahul Bajaj, who was admitted to the hospital a day ago, said: "We are only praying."

Actor-turned-politician Vinod Khanna and Congress leader Murli Deora also said that Dhirubhai Ambani was "stable and recovering slowly."

Shiv Sena leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane, Zee Telefilms chairman Subhash Chandra Goel too called upon the ailing Dhirubhai.

Mumbai BJP chief Vinod Tawade and captains of industry Kumarmangalam Birla, Anand Mahindra, and members of late showman Raj Kapoor's family also visited Ambani.

Mumbai Mayor Mahadev Deole, Securities and Exchange Board of India chairman G N Bajpai, and CII western region chief Suketu Shah also visited Ambani.

Conflicting reports from hospital authorities and dignitaries, as also the heavy police bandobast at the hospital, meanwhile, sparked off rumours in the city on Dhirubhai Ambani's health.

Ambani, who founded the petrochemicals and oil refining Reliance group, was born in 1932 in Chorwad village in Gujarat.

Reliance Industries which went public in 1977 with one of the largest public offering of its time, has the largest number of shareholders at over 3.5 million.

Ambani is credited with shaping India's equity culture, attracting hordes of retail investors in a market dominated by state-run financial institutions.

Shares of Reliance Industries, flagship of India's largest conglomerate by sales, were down 2.01 per cent at Rs 277.70 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Additional inputs: Agencies

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