An Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer is earning a lot of praise on social media for giving up her six-month maternity leave and returning to work to fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Srijana Gummalla, who currently serves as Commissioner of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) in Andhra Pradesh, has returned to work just 22 days after giving birth to a baby boy. She is a 2013 IAS batch officer.
A photo of Gummalla, with the newborn in her arm, has gone viral on social media.
Gummalla replied to the post stating that she was taking “every precaution with the baby.”
“I keep the baby with me in a very protected environment, for feeding and nurturing. Thanks a lot again, all of you,” she wrote on Twitter.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Gummalla explained that she would go home every four hours to feed her son and return to work and that her husband and mother took turns to care for her child in her absence.
She added that, as a key official, it was important for her to be at work during this difficult time and that it was her duty to provide emergency services.
“My role is just a small part in this humongous effort, rather modestly. My whole family gave me the strength to work towards this commitment,” she told ANI.
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