india

Updated: Apr 27, 2020 17:29 IST

Kishori Pednekar, the mayor of Mumbai, put on a nurse’s uniform and visited the Brihanmubmbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)-run BYL Nair Hospital on Monday morning in a bid to encourage and enthuse the staff, who are in the front line to combat the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.

Pednekar, a former nurse, mingled with the hospital’s nursing staff and enquired about the difficulties they are facing while dealing with the pandemic.

A BMC official said Pednekar ensured that social distancing norms were adhered to during her visit to the hospital.

“I’ve worked as a nurse and I’m acutely aware of the professional challenges. I put on my uniform to convey a message to the nursing fraternity that I’m one of their own. I interacted with the nursing staff to encourage them in their valiant fight against the pandemic. These are hard times. We need to stand by each other to fight this pandemic together,” she told HT.

Pednekar, who was born to a mill worker father, started her career as a nurse before she took to politics and joined the Shiv Sena’s women’s wing in 1992. Initially, she worked for the Sena in Raigad and Sindhudurg districts in western Maharashtra. She was elected a BMC councillor in 2002 and has since been re-elected twice in 2012 and 2017.

She had quarantined herself at her official residence in Byculla for a week after 53 Mumbai-based journalists recently tested Covid-19 positive at a health camp organised by the BMC authorities. Pednekar, who was present at the health camp, had announced that she would quarantine herself for two weeks but decided to get back to her public life after she tested Covid-19 negative for the second consecutive time.

“I stepped out after both my swab samples tested negative. I’m Mumbai’s first citizen and I need to work for the Mumbaikars,” she added.

On Tuesday, Pednekar plans to make a similar visit to the BMC-run Sion Hospital.

Mumbai reported 5,407 Covid-19 positive cases and 204 deaths till Sunday.