Less than a month after giving birth, Srijana Gummalla returned to her job, to tackle the pandemic situation in Vizag. Like thousands of frontline workers, Commissioner of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) Srijana had made the difficult choice of prioritising her work during the crisis.
Srijana, a 2013-batch IAS officer, decided to cut short her 6-month maternity leave within 22 days of giving birth to her son, because of the COVID-19 crisis. A photograph of Srijana performing her duties sitting at her work desk, while cradling her child, has been widely shared on social media, bringing in heaps of appreciation for her commitment.
Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat shared the powerful image and wrote, “In the time of COVID-19 crisis, responding to the call of duty, GVMC Commissioner Srijana Gummalla has returned to her work with her 1 month old child. This country is fortunate to have such corona warriors. My heartfelt gratitude for this living example of devotion to duty (sic).”
कोरोना संकट में अपने कर्तव्य की पुकार पर अपने 1 माह के बच्चे के साथ ग्रेटर विशाखापट्टनम की नगर आयुक्त श्रीमती सृजना गुम्माला वापस ड्यूटी पर लौट आईं।
— Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (@gssjodhpur) April 12, 2020
भाग्यशाली है यह राष्ट्र जहां ऐसे कोरोना योद्धा है। कर्तव्य निष्ठा के इस जीवंत उदाहरण के लिए आपका हृदय से आभार।#NoCoronaPolitics pic.twitter.com/7md7CxKRp2
Similar wishes and encouraging messages have been pouring in from colleagues and the media.
An extraordinary feather of @IASassociation. 2013 batch IAS Mrs @GummallaSrijana Commissioner @GVMC_OFFICIAL refused to take 06 months maternal leave and joined back her office with one month old baby in lap. Truly inspiring to all #CoronaWarriors #COVID__19 pic.twitter.com/mzbPsUyTco
— Chiguru Prashanth Kumar (@prashantchiguru) April 11, 2020
Young #IAS Officers leading #fightagainstcorona.
— IAS Association (@IASassociation) April 11, 2020
GVMC Visakhapatnam Commissioner, Ms Gummalla Srijana @GummallaSrijana
joined back on duty with one month old baby without maternity leave to serve the City.#CoronaWarriorshttps://t.co/DyP3s0uU2z pic.twitter.com/2HlpvZU9pC
Responding to the appreciation, Srijana wrote, “In this hour of crisis many people are doing their bit, some donating money, some distributing food, some working over times. Similarly I felt that my joining back would be more relevant (sic).”
“It’s not just me, many women and men, foregoing their personal comforts, are working in front lines to thwart this pandemic,” she wrote.
I am happy to receive best wishes from multiple quarters,though I was not expecting the same.
— Srijana Gummalla (@GummallaSrijana) April 13, 2020
In this hour of crisis many people are doing their bit, some donating money, some distributing food,some working over times. Similarly I felt that my joining back would be more relevant. pic.twitter.com/5K2BPE5bCf
She also wrote that she was privileged to have support from her family and from the government to return to work “in these extraordinary times.”
She also wrote about nurturing her child, and taking adequate precaution so the child is not exposed to any infections.
As of Monday evening, Visakhapatnam had registered 20 positive cases of COVID-19 in total, while 4 of these patients have recovered and been discharged.