Abdul Jabbar, an activist fought for the cause of lakhs of victims of 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, passed away on Thursday night following prolonged illness.
Jabbar, 61, was suffering from multiple health issues including blood pressure, diabetes and gangrene for the last six months.
A modest activist worked for livelihood of the thousands of survivors after the gas tragedy and was struggling for better treatment. Former Chief Minister Digvijay Singh had visited him in the hospital on Thursday and promised treatment at Mumabi and later CM Kamal Nath too announced to bear his treatment cost. However, he breathed his last by evening.
On personal front, he lost almost 50 per cent vision in his eyes and had serious lung ailments due to the gas leak.
He, however, took up the fight against Union Carbide in the courts for adequate compensation for around 5 lakh victims and 25000 who died.
In 1987, he had set up Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangthan, a survivors’ organisation demanding sustenance allowance and compensation for the victims especially widows of the gas tragedy victims. In his lifetime, he imparted vocational training to around 5,000 survivor women so that they could earn a livelihood for their families.
Besides, apart from several marches organised in Bhopal, he organised several protest marches in the national capital, making quite a stir in parliament.
The activist always rued that there was no proper compensation, medical rehabilitation, economic rehabilitation, or environmental rehabilitation after 1984 incident. But as he often said, one day we will get justice. He also agitated for better treatment facilities for gas victims at Bhopal Memorial Health and Research Centre (BMHRC).