DH Exclusive | Maharashtra received flak, but Mumbai model renowned now, says Kishori Pednekar

Pednekar a nurse by qualification, joined Shiv Sena, was voted to become a Corporator and is now Mumbai's Mayor

For over 20 years, Mumbai’s Mayor Kishori Pednekar has been a politician but the Florence Nightingale in her often dominates and even calls the shots, as she leads India's financial capital from the front in the fight against Covid-19.

Before joining Shiv Sena — inspired by late Balasaheb Thackeray — she was working as a nurse at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust Hospital. She was elected as Corporator in 2002.

Currently, she is among the privileged group of aides of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is also the Shiv Sena President.

At a time when India is reeling under the Covid-19 pandemic, her qualification as a nurse greatly benefited the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), one of the biggest and richest civic bodies of India.

“We are facing tough times…the post of Mumbai Mayor is very important, very prestigious…in fact, I have been blessed with a golden opportunity to work...I want to do some wonderful golden work for this great city,” said Pednekar on the eve of International Nurses Day, May 12, the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale.

Also Read | Mumbai mayor hits the streets amid rising Covid-19 cases

The 58-year-old Kishori Tai, as she is popularly known, said that since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, Maharashtra has faced a lot of criticism, however, today they have managed to prove their mettle and the Mumbai model of combating the pandemic is being appreciated across India.

“I work for 17 to 18 hours a day, and mostly from the field. As a Mumbai Mayor with the background of a healthcare giver and frontline worker, my responsibilities increase manifold,” she said, adding that she makes it a point to hold daily meetings – either at her official residence or BMC headquarters and visit every nook and corner of the city.

Also Read | Maharashtra manages to bring down Covid-19 cases, gives Mumbai model

“In fact, on the International Nurses Day, I am inaugurating a hospital in Mumbai’s suburbs, which is named after Savitribai Phule, who had played a pioneering role in women’s education,” she said, adding that daily she visits hospitals, vaccination centres, jumbo field hospitals, engage with relief workers. “Monsoon is approaching and I am inspecting the nullah-safai work,” she said.

"Last year, I donned the uniform of a nurse to boost the morale of the healthcare givers. Similarly, she was on the streets to ensure that people mask-up and also visited suburban stations and trains....recently when Remdesivir was being black marketed, I myself went out for raids and also checked the hospital ward details to see if people those does not need hospitalisation are also admitted...the leader must lead from the front and set examples," she said.

"Uddhav saheb regularly speaks over the phone or calls us to know about Mumbai...he is leading us and showing us how to be patient and work," she said, adding that whether it is increasing bed strength or tiding over the oxygen crisis, Mumbai has shown the way.

"Mumbai led the fight against Coronavirus...whether it is the first wave of the ongoing second wave...we have also started preparations for the third wave, which may affect kids," she said, adding that Mumbai's Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal is already working in this regard.