Anti-liquor crusader Chabbra battling for life at SMS hosp

JAIPUR: Anti-liquor crusader and ex-MLA Gurcharan Chabbra is battling for life in the ICU of Sawai Man Singh (SMS) hospital.
"He is in the state of coma and on ventilator support," said Dr R K Jenav, acting superintendent, SMS hospital.
According to the health bulletin released by the SMS hospital, Chabbra is suspected to be suffering from pulmonary thromboembolism."Pulmonary thromboembolism is a condition in which blood clot dislodges from deep veins of the legs and enters into pulmonary circulation leading to lowering of blood pressure and irregularity of heart rhythm. This usually occurs after prolonged immobilisation or diseases of the veins. Treatment includes clot dissolving medicines that were immediately given to the patient," the SMS hospital report says.
Health minister Rajendra Rathore visited the hospital to see Chabbra. He directed the doctors to provide the best possible treatment to him. It is for the fourth time when Chabbra, who is in his 70s, sat on fast unto death on October 2 demanding prohibition of liquor.
A doctor from SMS hospital said that last month Chabbra had been admitted to the hospital on October 6 when ketones in his urine were found. But after the treatment, the doctors discharged him from the hospital. He started his agitation again and was brought to the hospital again on October 17. His close aide Dharmveer Katewa, said, "Till last night he looked fine while talking to the former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, who met him in the hospital asking about his health. But in the morning, his condition started deteriorating."
Chabbra initiated his campaign demanding prohibition of sale of liquor in the state in 1979. "When Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was the chief minister of Rajasthan, he started his agitation. There were 106 MLAs at that time, who signed in his support," said Vishnu Dutt Sharma, secretary, Rajasthan Pradesh Nashabandi Samiti.
He sat on hunger strike twice - once for 15 days and second time for 25 days at the time of the then chief minister Ashok Gehlot, demanding nashabandi. Gehlot constituted a committee and the committee came out with 16-point resolution. Now, last year (2014), he sat on hunger strike again. "Health minister Rajendra Rathore and another minister Arun Chaturvedi agreed to implement the recommendation made by the committee (constituted by Gehlot). But since that has not been implemented yet, he was protesting again," Sharma said.
Now, civil society is condemning the government for not fulfilling the promise.
"Doctors said his BP came down to zero which resulted in him going into deep coma causing his survival difficult. It is shameful of the Vasundhara government to have put Chabbra's life at such risk that now he is battling between life and death. He was simply demanding from the government to implement its own commitment recommendation that was given in writing to him last year in May when he had sat on a similar fast demanding total prohibition of liquor and strengthening the Lokayukt," civil rights activists Sawai Singh, Kavita Srivastava and Mohammad Iqbal said.