IAS Officer Refuses Maternity Leave, Returns to Fight Coronavirus

Srijana Gummalla returned to work just 22 days after giving birth to her son.

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.

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.
Thanks a lot again for all of you.

— Srijana Gummalla (@GummallaSrijana) April 12, 2020