Kolkata: A chief minister sitting under a tree or on a cheap plastic chair outside a hospital morgue for hours helping grieving relatives cope with a personal tragedy is not a familiar sight for those used to the pompous ways of Indian politicians.
But West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee did exactly that in the aftermath of the Advanced Medicare Research Institute (AMRI) hospital fire. Connecting as only she can with ordinary folk, the chief minister in Mamata Banerjee transformed into a chief manager as she not only supervised rescue operations but also managed the crowd and ensured speedy release of bodies from the SSKM hospital after autopsy.
Banerjee cancelled all her other engagements and camped at the hospital with her ministerial colleagues for more than seven hours till late night, virtually going without food the whole day, officials and eyewitnesses said.
Before coming to the SSKM hospital, she visited the AMRI hospital on Friday morning, though her presence initially led to chaos.
Family members of the patients and onlookers lunged towards her prompting the police to take action.
"This is not the time for lathi [baton] charge. Is this a place for fighting?" said Banerjee to the officers as she urged the people to stay calm and not to hinder rescue work.
She assured them that action would be taken against the guilty.
