Mamata with Nandigram villagers in Tamluk on Thursday. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Nandigram, March 15: Shut out of Nandigram yesterday, but not out of centre stage today.

Scaling CPM barricades, Mamata Banerjee today consoled the injured and their families in Nandigram town, lambasted the government for the “genocide” and then collapsed with chest pain.

In the course of a three-hour stay restricted to the Nandigram hospital premises, she was also administered oxygen and saline and then driven back to Calcutta in an ambulance.

Mamata could not visit any of the hot spots because of failing health, but her dramatic presence in the area was a shot in the arm for the local party leaders, who showed their enthusiasm by inciting violence among the crowd gathered on the hospital premises.

While Mamata was inside the hospital speaking to the injured, Trinamul Congress and Bhoomi Uchchhed Pratirodh Committee supporters ransacked and tried to torch the BDO office, about 100 metres away.

Mamata would have liked to address the crowd, but by the time she was ready with a microphone in hand, the situation outside was spinning out of control.

Panic prevailed both inside and outside the hospital with police firing two rounds in the air to disperse the crowd. The police also lobbed tear gas shells and rushed in to douse the fire in the BDO office.

After some time, Mamata complained of chest pain and was put on oxygen support, the sudden sickness throwing the already overworked doctors into a tizzy.

“She has complained of chest pain. Her blood pressure is also lower than normal. We’ve given her saline and oxygen. There’s nothing more we can do here. We’re recommending her removal to SSKM Hospital,” Nandigram block medical officer Subhabrata Maity said.

Around 3 pm, an ambulance was summoned and she was taken to Calcutta.

Before her departure, she told the crowd: “What kind of democracy is this? They’ve killed innocent women and children. On top of that, the administration attempted a cover-up by trying to stop me from coming here.”

Trinamul leader Mukul Roy clarified that though Mamata has been advised “admission to SSKM Hospital, she has refused to be hospitalised since the Nandigram andolan is on”.

Last night, Mamata had waited till 12.30 am to enter Nandigram, but was held up at Chandipur by a large group of CPM supporters who refused to let her through because journalists were accompanying her. She then proceeded to Tamluk, vowing to reach Nandigram today.

This morning, Mamata was up early and was bound for Nandigram before 9 am.

The usual 90-minute drive from Tamluk to Nandigram took over three hours as her convoy was stopped at several places due to the numerous blockades put up by the CPM.

At Chandipur, around 17 km from Nandigram, she ran into over 200 CPM supporters who asked her to go back. In another place, a 500-strong mob hurled abuses at her and the journalists accompanying her.