Mamata Banerjee's 'visit' to meet assaulted medico sparks frenzy

KOLKATA: For a few of hours on Saturday afternoon the focus of the looming medical crisis shifted a couple of kilometres away from NRS Medical College and Hospital, the epicentre of the protest by junior doctors, to Institute of Neurosciences after reports that chief minister Mamata Banerjee may visit Prabaha Mukherjee who has been undergoing treatment at the Mullickbazar address after he was assaulted by a mob on Monday night.
Though the chief minister did not visit Prabaha and there was no official communication from the state secretariat or Trinamool leadership conforming the visit. The activities at the hospital did rekindle hopes of a solution to the stalemate between the state government and the junior doctors over resuming the health services that have been in suspension since Tuesday.
Senior police officers reached the hospital around 1 pm and held a small meeting with the officials of INK about the visit. Guardrails were wheeled in to cordon off the area leading to the back gate. “When the chief minister comes she will go up from the lift at the back so that the patients in the outdoor are not disturbed,” said a senior police officer.
Representatives of the hospital came down to the ground floor to guide the chief minister to Prabaha’s room who is recuperating in room 619 on the sixth floor of the hospital. On Saturday afternoon his parents and cousins were present with him. Sources in the hospital said he had just finished having his lunch when the news of the CM’s visit came in. It was not known how Prabaha or his family reacted to the news.
“We came to know about the chief minister’s visit from the police,” said a representative of the hospital.
At around 2.30pm, the senior officers suddenly got into their vehicles and left the hospital which was an indication that the VIP (chief minister) will not be coming. Even the junior police officers who looked alert and kept a vigil on everybody entering the hospital, let their guards down and dispersed for a cup of tea. This dashed all hopes of any reconciliation and breakthrough to solve the medical crisis.