Kolkata, Sept 11 : Renowed Bengali writer and Magsaysay award winner Mahasweta Devi was hospitalised here on Saturday after she complained of uneasiness and nausea.
Earlier, she was admitted to the SSKM Hospital, but was later shifted to a private nursing home on the request of Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee.
Sources at the nursing home said her illness was due to a sudden spike in the blood sugar level. “She is undergoing treatment at the intensive therapy unit under the supervision of a team of doctors,” a spokesperson of the nursing home said.
Her blood sugar level was brought under control and she was being kept under close observation.
“Few medical tests have been performed on her and the results are awaited. Her condition is stable,” the spokesperson added.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, the author's health was improving. She had sent Commerce Minister Partha Chatterjee to the clinic to enquire about her health.
The author has been working in the State's tribal belt for long and she strongly opposed the ongoing anti-Maoist operations in the three Jangalmahal districts. She has repeatedly stated that poor tribals have to bear the brunt of police excesses during such operations.
Her warm relations with Mamata go back to the days of the Singur and the Nandigram movements when the author voiced her support for the cause of farmers.
After the Trinamool Congress-led government took charge, she had demanded the unconditional release of all political prisoners. The government had set up a Bandi Mukti (Prisoners Release) committee to go into the cases of the political prisoners for deciding whether they could be released.
While the State government had announced the release of 52 prisoners, including a few Maoist leaders, the move has been put on hold after the Centre warned the State against releasing the Maoists as they could again regroup, The Hindu reported.
