Patel added that Nanubhai had encouraged him a lot when he decided to go for piped gas supply in the city. ``I always approached him for consultation when faced with a problem and he never disappointed me,'' Patel said.

Vadodara's first mayor Nanalal Choksi said a number of institutions would really become poor with the demise of Nanubhai. He said that it was Nanubhai who mooted to the Vadodara Municipal Corporation to bring water from Mahi to solve city' water problem.

SOCLEEN president V V Modi said that Nanubhai, a founder-president of SOCLEEN, was deeply involved in environmental preservation and issues related to it. ``Just a few days ago, he phoned me up about the cultivation of vegetables by using industrial and other effluents and their sale in the city and insisted that we should take up the matter with the local administration as well as state government,'' Modi said.

Chirayu Amin of Alembic Chemicals said that Nanubhai had multi-faceted personality. While deeply involved in scientific and technological development, Nanubhai also took lot of interest in activities promoting culture and education and preservation of great Indian heritage.

An agricultural scientist M N Nayak, who has been associated with Nanubhai for 21 years, said that he was committed to development of non-conventional energy, particularly solar energy, and agricultural development.

Former secretary general of FGI, Ranjan Munshi said, ``He was a pioneer of industrial movement in the city. He brought this movement at a time when only textile industry was known to the people. A very versatile man, not only a reformist but also took the initiative to implement management centre. The addition of the new research and management training centre at Jyoti, speaks of his dynamism. It is a great loss to the people of this city''.

General Secretary of INSONA, G M Oza said, `Nanu,' (small) -- the name was quite a contrary to the contributions for the people of this city. There can be no parallel to the contributions that he has made. Whatever was dreamt by the visionary Sayajirao-III, Nanubhai had converted most of his dreams into reality.