Crowds,chaos force Mamata to cancel event at R G Kar hospital

A huge crowd and chaos at the gates forced Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to change her plan to inaugurate two new special projects at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

A huge crowd and chaos at the gates forced Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to change her plan to inaugurate two new special projects at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Todays program was to be the first inauguration by Banerjee as the new chief minister. As news of her visit spread,a huge crowd gathered at the hospital gates and the corridors to catch her glimpse. Since morning there was a high-level of preparation and alertness at the hospital premises. Considering the chief ministers recent surprise visits at other hospitals,the authorities tried to ensure that nothing went wrong. But as time passed,the crowds kept swelling and Mamata Banerjee who arrived around 1 pm had to change her plans and leave for the Writers Building.

Banerjee,who is also the state Health Minister,was to inaugurate Artificial Valve Bank,the first of its kind facility in the state and the second in the country after the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi,and a new ICCU unit of 16 beds .

The new facility would cater to the needs of those who cannot afford heart valve transplantation at private hospitals which cost around Rs 70,000. Here functioning valves would be taken from those who die or from postmortem bodies with due permission and preserved under special conditions to be transplanted later. It may cost the patient only around Rs 4000, said Prof Bhabatosh Biswas,the head of the department of Cardiology and Cardio Thoracic surgery.

The new ICCU unit will comprise 16 beds thus enabling better facilities for patients with heart ailments. Beside,a renovated unit of 36 beds in general ward will also start functioning, said Dr S S.Chatterjee,the director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences.

We tried our best for the event but chaos prevented the Chief Minister from entering the premises. We hope to have her here soon, said Dr Siddhartha Niyogi,deputy superintendent of the hospital.

Later,Health Secretary Manindranath Roy said the Chief Minister has assured that she would drop in some time later.

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Amid chaos,some patients and their relatives at the hospital said the CMs visit created troubles for them.

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