K A Rahman's three-and-a-half decade-long fight against Grasim Industries Ltd for its alleged failure to control emission of toxic material into the air and water of Vazhakkadu village in Kozhikode district ended when he breathed his last earlier this month. The industrial unit, which produces rayon-based cloth, is owned by the Birlas.

Rahman, 57, had kept up his fight against the factory to the bitter end. ``I am worried about the future of my villagers and their coming generations... There is none to protect my people who fall victims to cancer and other ailments. There is no option but to continue the struggle to protect the right to live,'' Rahman told newsmen a day before he died.

``I know I will not last for more than a few days now. I wish I could see my river (Chaliyar) come back to life just once more; see the fish leap in the sun, and see that mypeople do not have to die any more like I will...,'' he said.

While the government, trade unions and others stood firmly behind the company, few were bothered about the dying people and the environment, he lamented. The entire village turned up to pay its last respects to the valiant social worker who raised his voice for green activism long before some of the currently well-known environmentalists in the country entered the field.

As a young man of 22, he vowed to wipe out the unit and once even smashed the gates of the factory that spewed toxic emissions and effluents. President of the Vazhakkadu panchayat for over 10 years, Rahman relentlessly fought against the pollution caused by chemicals like sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and carbon monoxide that have caused various ailments and devastated vast areas of the once lush green village.

Just a day before his death on January 10, a letter written by him citing the dangers posed by the factory appeared in a Malayalam daily. With Rahman's death, thenumber of those who have met a similar end in the village of 30,000 people is reported to be 213, according to an official count. About 79 more are counting their days as they try out every possible cure they can afford.

Besides the cancer cases, there are 58 people suffering from cardio-pulmonary diseases. Also there are 176 tuberculosis cases, 134 chronic asthmatics, 134 sufferers of lethal ulcers, 117 have their kidneys dysfunctional and 514 have serious vision problems, according to a survey conducted by the local village council. In 1981, a study conducted by the Kozhikode Medical College had revealed that 23 per cent of men and 21 per cent of women in the village suffered from respiratory diseases. It found that 14 per of the men and 7 per cent of the women had chronic bronchitis.

Another study conducted by the District Medical Officer also bared the havoc wrought by the unit. It found that cancer accounted for 20 per cent of all deaths reported from the village and its environs. In the villagealone, the cancer related death rate was as high as 30 per cent.

K T Vijayamadhavan, an expert on heavy metal poisoning, has slammed the Grasim management's claim that effluents from the factory are ideal for irrigation. ``Bacteria just cannot grow in such toxic wastes and so they add nutrients like ammonium sulfate. This may cause an abrupt and transient growth spurt, but the soil will get depleted rapidly and will turn sterile,'' he says.

The Kerala Assembly's Environment Committee, too, had pointed out to the state government in April last that Grasim Industries posed major health hazards to Vazhakkadu and its environs. It had also suggested that 25 per cent of the annual profit of the company be set apart for the health and welfare of the villagers. Nothing is known to have materialised yet. The government and the labour unions are more concerned about the fallout of a closure of the factory on the job situation in the district. They argue that close to 3,000 people would be rendered jobless if thefactory were to be shut. Meanwhile, thousands of farmers and other villagers suffer in silence.