Ghaziabad’s nodal officer for coronavirus returns to office, with newborn in tow

“There are many people working tirelessly for the cause of Covid… doctors, nurses and many others. At such a point, I could not abandon my official duty. The best I could do was take every precaution for myself and the baby. I hoped I wouldn’t contract it as pregnant women are in the vulnerable group. I took only 22 days of necessary leave and joined within two weeks of delivery,” she said.

Saumya cleared the UPSC exam in 2016 with all-India rank 4, after completing engineering from NIT in Allahabad. A gold medalist in LBSNAA civil services training academy, her start-up project on ‘Innovations in defence excellence’ was also awarded during her training in the Ministry of Defence. In October 2019, she was given charge of joint magistrate in Ghaziabad.

Even before handling the Covid department directly, Saumya was part of lockdown enforcing measures and oversaw movement of migrant labourers. In the weeks to come, she would visit markets for monitoring essential supplies and ensure functioning of community kitchens to feed more than 10,000 people. In the final days of her pregnancy, she focused more on data as she “could not move”.

“Being the nodal officer, I had to streamline working between the administration and medical department. I visited Covid hospitals and interacted with doctors and patients and collated data accordingly. The DM and all of us other officials set up the Covid helpline to further help in passing information. I wore a face shield, mask, and gloves at all times, especially during hospital visits, hoping the precautions would suffice,” she said.

Saumya remains on administrative Covid duty as she rejoined as SDM after foregoing her maternity leave. From visits to Covid hospitals to public meetings in the tehsil office, she interacts with hundreds on a daily basis. And with due precautions, the child’s routine has now become a part of her own.