The right stuff: Mamata and her trial by AMRI fire

Today was Mamata Banerjee’s test by fire. And Didi showed everyone that when it comes to a crisis, there are few others in West Bengal you would want on your side.

The horrendous fire at the AMRI hospital in Kolkata has left at least 73 people dead and left enormous chaos in its wake. But it has also reminded Bengalis of the reason they elected Mamata Banerjee to power earlier this year. When it comes to a crisis like this, the woman is a natural-born leader.

No nonsense. Take charge. Empathetic. And genuine.

Two hundred days into her government, Mamata Banerjee, hugely successful as a drama-prone, rabble rousing opposition leader, has struggled to fit into the shoes of a chief minister and administrator. She has been accused of micro-managing, unable to delegate, mercurial and governing by symbolism. She is better at blocking, whether its FDI or water talks with Bangladesh, than actually doing anything say her critics.

But the AMRI fire showed that there is one thing Mamata excels in. It’s taking charge and being decisive especially in a situation where everyone else  seems to be busy ducking responsibility.

Eight hours after the devastating fire, the authorities at AMRI were missing in action.

“We got a call from our relative at 4 in the morning saying he was feeling suffocated. And he had rung the bell for a nurse and no one came,” said one family member to a Bangla channel. “And when we came the security guards would not let us in or tell us anything.”

The AMRI disaster quickly turned into an information black hole. Eight hours after the fire broke out, AMRI had not managed to set up a helpline or an information desk. Patients’ families were milling around, distraught with worry, unsure if their relatives were dead or alive or had been shifted to another hospital.  The tension and uncertainty erupted into bedlam as family members shattered glass in the reception area and the police resorted to a lathi charge.

“This is not a time for lathi charge,” scolded the chief minister standing on the grounds of the hospital. “Is this a place for fighting?” But she also requested people with folded hands to not obstruct the police and rescue workers. She was everything she needed to be at that moment – firm, cajoling, outraged yet reassuring without striking a false political note. She wasn’t the usual politician, just sitting by the victims’ beds and announcing compensation from the chief minister’s relief fund.

Instead she took action. Within minutes, she announced setting up four help-desks. Within hours, she announced the hospital’s licence had been revoked and she was directing that the hospital owner be arrested. She said people sell their belongings to be able to afford treatment in these kinds of high end private hospitals. And this kind of shoddy emergency response was just unacceptable. The hospital was not even able to provide a blueprint of the building layout to the firemen.

“This license will not exist now,” Mamata said firmly.

Mamata didn’t just do the politician meet and greet. She went from hospital to hospital, standing there, making sure that arriving patients were getting proper treatment, that the post-mortems were going smoothly. Take colour photographs of the faces of the bodies so families can identify them quicker she directed. And she did not forget to thank the youth from the nearby slums who were the first responders to the blaze, risking life and limb to plunge into the smoke and haul out patients, trapped in their beds and wheelchairs. All this while she is dealing with her own family emergency. Her mother is gravely sick, and in hospital.

One could say it’s easy for Mamata as the new sheriff in town to act tough. Her administration cannot be held to task for licences that were issued to AMRI when they built their new extension. But that misses the point. In a city that is still defined by its close-knit paaras or neighbourhoods, you could tell why everyone calls her big sister. In a moment of chaos and crisis, one can tell who is a leader and who is just a politician.

Today, at least, Mamata Banerjee passes the test.