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The Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Modinagar, Saumya Pandey, caught everyone's eye after she resumed duty merely 14 days after giving birth a baby girl.
She was appointed as the nodal officer for COVID-19 in Ghaziabad in July 2020. As she decided to go to her workplace and resume work, her newborn daughter accompanied her to the office as she resumed her administrative duties.
Amid the pandemic, she did not want to stop working on her duties and wished to rejoin work as soon as possible. Pandey is thankful to her family, colleagues and staff members for providing immense support. Till now, she has not named her newborn daughter.
She understands that the need of the hour is to carry ahead with all administrative works even though the COVID-19 cases are increasing. She doesn't want to negate her duties as an officer in the wake of the pandemic.
Pandey shared that she believes that God has given women the strength to give birth and care for their children. She highlighted that rural Indian women continue to do both households and paid work before as well as after giving birth. "Similarly, it is the blessing of God that I'm able to do my administrative work with my three-week-old girl child," Pandey added.
She also thanked her entire Tehsil and Ghaziabad district administration which has acted like family and provided her support during the pregnancy and post-delivery. Apart from this, she highlighted the need for taking necessary precautions while working during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for pregnant women.
The 26-year-old secured an all-India rank of four in the 2016 UPSC exams. During her civil services training period, she was a gold-medalist at the academy. She got appointed as Ghaziabad's nodal officer for COVID-19 from July to September 2020. Post that in September, she took a 22-day leave for her operation. Consequently, she rejoined work on October 1, just two weeks after the birth of her daughter.
Pandey admitted that her newborn daughter's routine is slowly becoming a part of her own. She is trying to adjust herself as per the baby's pattern and is juggling to take care of her daughter along with her administrative duties.
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