Doctors advise hospitalisation as farmer leader Dallewal's health worsens due to indefinite fast

Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal's health deteriorates on 21st day of hunger strike, refuses medical treatment.

Doctors checking on Punjab farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, whose hunger strike entered its 21st day on Monday (December 16, 2024), have recommended immediate hospitalisation due to his deteriorating health. However, he has refused to receive any medical treatment.

The 70-year-old Mr. Dallewal, a cancer patient, has been on a fast-unto-death at the Khanauri border point between Punjab and Haryana to press the Centre to accept the agitating farmers' demands, including a legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) on crops.

Sharing details about Mr. Dallewal’s health, Dr Avtar Singh said, “As per test reports, the creatinine level is increasing and GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is dropping. Ketones are also on a higher side which means his condition is quite bad.” “Dr Singh, who is part of a team of doctors from the 5 Rivers Heart Association, an NGO, said Mr. Dallewal has not eaten anything. He is just drinking water,” the doctor said.

Ketone in urine indicates the body is using fat for energy instead of glucose. Creatinine is a waste product created when muscle cells break down during activity. Kidneys remove creatinine from the blood and put it in urine. But when kidneys do not work properly, creatinine builds up in the blood.

The glomerular filtration rate shows how well the kidneys are filtering. Dr Singh said Mr. Dallewal has turned so weak that he could not stand on his own and required support. “A few days ago, his blood pressure was recorded in the range of 80/50 which is not a good sign,” he said.

"There is a possibility of cardiac arrest," he further said. Doctors have installed medical equipment at the protest site to monitor the vitals of Dallewal. A few days ago, Dr Karan Jatwani, an oncologist, visited the Khanauri border to examine Mr. Dallewal.

Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar, who has been associated with Mr. Dallewal for a long time, said he had been on hunger strikes five times. "But this time, Mr. Dallewal's fast has stretched longer than the 13-day hunger strike by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare in 2011." Mr. Dallewal had gone on fast in support of farmers' issues in March 2018, January 2019 and 2021, November 2022 and June 2023.