Mamata improving

Kolkata, Dec 29 (UNI) The condition of Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee was improving today in response to medical care, even though she was on occasional oxygen support at a city nursing home.

Wishing her speedy recovery, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the arch political adversary of the Trinamool chief, sent flowers to her at the nursing home.

BJP president Rajnath Singh telephoned Ms Banerjee at the nursing home to inquire about her health.

A medical bulletin, released in the evening by a seven-member team of doctors, said she had some degree of liver dysfunction and her heart rate was still low, though the blood pressure was improving. She was also extremely weak and was suffering from respiratory problem necessitating occasional oxygen support.

''But she is responding to treatment as expected. The medical board is monitoring her health,'' it said.

A member of the board of doctors said the Trinamool leader was being fed minerals and vitamins in fluid. She also took tea in the morning. She would be kept in the nursing home at least for another 72 hours for observation, he said.

The Trinamool supremo was admitted to the nursing home immediately after she called off her 25-day-long fast last midnight following requests from President A P J Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

She had started the hunger strike in protest against acquisition of agricultural land at Singur.

After demanding scrapping of the car project for which land had already been acquired, Ms Banerjee has now demanded return of 406 acres out of total 960 acres of land acquired so far by the government at Singur which she alleged had been forcibly taken away.

Though West Bengal Chief X X X Picking up from para 8 of CA 11, POLITICS-MAMATA-STABLE.

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