Dr Romesh Mootoo, described as the visionary who oversaw the transformation of San Fernando from borough to city status, in November 1988, has died.

A medical doctor and consultant rheumatologist, whose vision also led to the establishment of the Surgi-Med Medical Centre, San Fernando, Mootoo died on Friday morning. He was said to be in his 80s.

Long-time friend, Diane Seukeran, former San Fernando West MP and mother of current MP Faris Al-Rawi, said as far as she knew, he had no known medical ailments.

“As part of the older generation, he was not medical ill per se, his death was all part of the aging process.

“He was a beautiful human being, best friend of my late brother, Ian, and family doctor since he graduated from medical school in the 1960s. He was an integral part of our lives, warm, charming, intelligent and erudite, with a passion for TT.”

Born in Tunapuna, upon his return from medical studies in the UK, Mootoo took up an assignment at the San Fernando General Hospital and settled in the then borough with his wife, Indrani and later, their four children Shani, Vahli, Junior, Indrani and Kavir.

Even then, he visualised ways to improve life in the place he called home, leading him into politics, first as a senator (1967 and 1971) with the Democratic Labour Party.

He later joined a group of San Fernando activists such as, Alloy Lequay, Nazim Muradali, Percy Persad, John Alleyne and Imtiaz Hassanali, to form the Borough Action Team (BAT).

[caption id="attachment_990332" align="alignnone" width="1024"] President Paula-Mae Weekes with Chaconia medal (gold) recipients, from left, Ewart Williams, Dr Romesh Mootoo, Dr Waveney Charles, Jones P Madeira and Joan Yuille-Williams at the National Awards Ceremony on September 24, 2018. - File photo/Sureash Cholai[/caption]

Mootoo was among those caught up in the groundswell for the new National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) in 1986. He was elected vice-chairman of the party, served another stint as a government senator in 1987, resigning in 1988, to take up the post as mayor of San Fernando. He served only one term.

At that time, San Fernando was dubbed the “Industrial Capital,” and holding firm to the belief that the southern town kept the national economy alive, he made a case for its transformation as a city, which became a reality on November 18, 1988. He received a Chaconia medal (gold) on September 24, 2018.

"It is difficult to find a gentleman, the ilk of Ramesh’s generation, in today’s world," Seukeran told Sunday Newsday.

“I am pained by his passing. This was a man who contributed to the welfare of thousands, in his capacity as an excellent doctor, his politics, and certainly as “Sanitas Fortis,” which means, “In a healthy environment we will find strength.”

She said the loss of Mootoo, is not just to San Fernando but to TT.

“San Fernando has lost one of its finest citizens and the nation loses a son of the soil.”

Chairman of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation Dr Allen Sammy, who served as deputy mayor of the San Fernando Ci