Following in the tradition of most communist leaders from Kolkata, the frail body of Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu will be donated to the state-run NRS Hospital in Kolkata.
While Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee would announce details of
Basu’s final rites on Sunday evening, body of the and former West Bengal chief minister is expected will be taken to the hospital in a procession and donated.
Basu’s eyes, also pledged for donation to private organisation Susrut Eye Foundation & Research Center (SEFRC), were collected on Sunday shortly after his death at 11.47 am.
He was undergoing treatment at the Salt Lake-based Hospital since January 1. Basu had pledged to donate his body and eyes for medical research on April 4, 2003 at a function, organised by NGO Ganadarpan and SEFRC.
While pledging his body, Basu had said that he decided to donate his body to spare his family members the trouble of “taking me to the crematorium.” “I don’t know whether the organs of this old body of mine are still suitable for transplant. But I believe it may help medical students and researchers,” he had said.
Bhattacharjee also pledged to donate his body on March 2006 for the “advancement of medical sciences” at a similar ceremony organised by Gana Darpan.
Following the pledged he joined the ranks of communist leaders including Somnath Chatterjee, Biman Bose and CPI (M) state secretary Anil Biswas, who passed away in March 2006.