Social worker Abdul Jabbar, who organised survivors of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy to raise demands for fair compensation, adequate treatment and complete rehabilitation, died at a private hospital here on Thursday night. He was 61.
The State government had planned to shift him to a Mumbai hospital for better treatment on Friday. But, Mr. Jabbar, survived by wife and three children, breathed his last at the Chirayu Hospital in Bhopal, said its Chairman Ajay Goenka.
Stating that he was admitted to the hospital two days ago, Mr. Goenka said, “He had long-standing diabetes leading to atherosclerosis, which led to triple-vessel disorder in the coronary arteries. And peripheral vascular disease causing gangrene. These were the major causes for his death.”
His illness was in a critical state for three years. “We found he was living on one small diagonal artery that supplied only 10% of the blood,” said Mr. Goenka.
On the intervening night of December 2 and 3 in 1984, as methyl isocyanate leaked from a Union Carbide pesticide plant here, Mr. Jabbar, whose house stood just 2 km away, couldn’t save his mother and brother. Yet, he helped evacuate scores of others from neighbouring areas. The tragedy killed more than 25,000, and caused diseases among lakhs, even in subsequent generations.
“If the government couldn’t save a crusader, who gave voice to the affected and served his lifetime for them, by providing him adequate care in time, imagine the plight of other survivors,” said Rasheeda Bee, an associate of Mr. Jabbar and president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh. “He was admitted to various hospital for three months, and the government apparently woke up too late. There is a clear case of negligence.”
Asserting that survivors would continue to demand justice, she said, the next generation would fight for rights.
In 1987, Mr. Jabbar set up the Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila Udyog Sanghathan, which imparted vocational skills to women, mainly widows, so that they could be self-reliant. In addition, the group demanded sustenance allowance for them.
Condoling the death, Chief Minister Kamal Nath said, “He played an important role in ensuring employment and rehabilitation for the gas-affected. He was also conscious about the environment and from time to time worked for its protection. His death has caused irreparable loss.”
