COVID-19: IAS Officer Refuses 6-month Maternity Leave, Joins Work with Month-old baby!

In an inspiring incident, an Indian Administrative Service officer named Srijana Gummalla gave up her six-month maternity leave and returned to work within just a month of giving birth.

Srijana passed out with the 2013 ISA batch and is currently serving as Commissioner of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) in Andhra Pradesh.

The matter was brought to light by Twitter user Chiguru Prashanth Kumar who wrote, "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". He also attached an image of Srijana with her baby at work.

Srijana took notice of the tweet and responded by saying, "Thanks for the kind words Prashanth garu. Taking every precaution with baby. I keep the baby with me in a very protected environment for feeding and nurturing."

As India is under a complete lockdown, administrators are among those front-line workers who are keeping the fight against COVID-19 as strong as possible. Support messages are pouring in for Srijana's remarkable sacrifice from across the country.

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