Roshni Aparanji Korati’s sons Sanchit, 4, and Suchit, 2, are furious with her for being “so near yet so far”. On the other hand Sashanka Ala’s two-year-old son Prabir is used to her staying away, sometimes for a week.
Life was no different for the two district administrators about 900 km apart on Mother’s Day.
Ms. Korati is the Deputy Commissioner of central Assam’s Jorhat district and Ms. Ala is her counterpart in Lawngtlai, Mizoram’s southernmost district bordering Bangladesh and Myanmar.
“We have been separated by a floor in my official residence. They are upstairs with my parents who are above 65 years and I have been staying downstairs since the COVID-19 preparedness began two months ago,” Ms Korati told The Hindu on Sunday.
The Jorhat DC has been on “perpetual home quarantine” for fear of infecting her sons and parents if she contracts COVID-19. “My responsibilities require meeting healthcare workers and others who deal with people on quarantine,” she said.
Her workload increased after two women, who arrived from Mumbai in an ambulance tested COVID-19 positive on Saturday.
While she has been a reassuring figure in the district’s fight against the virus, her sons are not amused.
“They see my vehicle. We see each other from the stairs. I cannot help it, better to be safe than sorry,” she said.
On Sunday, Ms Ala returned to her official residence in the district headquarters Lawngtlai three days after a tour of some villages on the Myanmar border to ensure.
“The borders are very porous and long and we have to make sure no one sneaks in during the lockdown,” she said.
‘That’s the way it is’
“He got used to my being away for a few days during the November 2018 elections. It hurts not to be able to give him more time, but that’s the way it is,” Ms. Ala said.
A local woman takes care of her son when she is away.
