The former Chief Minister said she had come across reports that Soumita Dey, who had represented her home state for a decade in gymnastics besides officiating in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, was fighting for her life in a Kolkata hospital.
"I was saddened reading reports in this regard. Hailing from a simple family in West Bengal, she had participated in a number of events and had the potential to achieve global accolades when she fell ill," she said in a statement here.
"I have directed that Rs 5 lakh be paid from the MGR Trust towards her medical expenses," the statement said.
Down with Neurosarcoidosis since 2012, Dey now cannot even move her legs, with the lower half of her body affected by paralysis. After representing Bengal at the national level for almost a decade (from 1998 to 2008), Soumita took to coaching in 2005.