ID :
220931
Wed, 12/28/2011 - 09:45
Auther :

Hazare advised to call off fast amid signs of dehydration; crowd low on day 2

Mumbai, Dec 28 (PTI) Concerns over Anna Hazare's health mounted Wednesday afternoon with doctors advising him to end his fast as its continuance could affect his kidneys. The 74-year-old social activist's sodium and chloride levels have gone down and there are signs of dehydration but no congestion in chest or throat. "We strongly advise discontinuing the fast as continuing it may lead to kidney failure. There is evidence of dehydration," Ashwin Mehta of city's Jaslok Hospital, who examined Hazare along with P P Lahane, Dean of JJ Hospital, said. He said Hazare's temperature was 100 degrees, but his blood pressure dropped when standing, making it difficult for him to walk. "As doctors we have asked him to call off his fast. Now he has to take a decision," Lahane said. The social activist who is sitting on a three-day fast here since Tuesday in his fight for a strong ombudsman in the country to curb corruption, has been stubbornly rejecting requests by his close associates to call off the hunger strike, despite concerns about his health. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan of the western Indian state of Maharashtra of which Mumbai is the capital had also spoken to Hazare last night and appealed to him to end his fast. Meanwhile, with Anna Hazare ailing and Mumbaikars (people of Mumbai) largely staying away, the anti-graft campaigner's 3-day fast appears to have fizzled out on the second day today. As hardly a few hundred supporters marked their presence at the sprawling MMRDA grounds, the police too whittled down the security apparatus significantly. When Hazare launched his fast yesterday, fourth this year, for a strong Lokpal, the estimate of people at the venue varied between 4,000 to 10,000. The attendance dropped sharply today with hardly a 200-300 people sitting in front of the stage. The activist's fast at the Ramlila Maidan grounds in New Delhi in August had seen impressive turnouts with upto 30,000-40,000 people pouring in every day. PTI

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