Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s Kendrapara district official on Wednesday visited an Anganwadi centre that has remained non-functional for nearly three months after villagers objected to the appointment of a Dalit woman as a helper, giving them three days to resolve the issue and urging them to send their children and collect Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) rations.
Kendrapara sub-collector Arun Kumar Nayak visited the centre in Nuagaon village under Ghadiaamal gram panchayat in Rajnagar block along with Rajnagar tehsildar Jisukrishna Das and district social welfare officer Arabinda Ray to discuss the matter with villagers. However, the villagers refused to meet him.
The centre in Nuagaon village under Ghadiaamal gram panchayat in Rajnagar block has not functioned since November 20 last year, when Sharmistha Sethi was appointed to the post. Following her appointment, villagers stopped sending children to the centre and refused to accept supplementary nutrition meant for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children, citing caste-based objections.
The sub-collector said he has given the villagers three days to resolve the issue. “The helper has been appointed as per norms. I request the villagers to send their kids and take the ICDS rations and not deprive the children of early education and supplementary nutrition,” Nayak said. He also took selfies with the Dalit helper, Sharmistha Sethi, in a show of solidarity.
Though villagers are not openly expressing their reservations—likely apprehensive of being booked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act—officials admitted caste remains the main stumbling block.
{{/usCountry}}Though villagers are not openly expressing their reservations—likely apprehensive of being booked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act—officials admitted caste remains the main stumbling block.
{{/usCountry}}Sarpanch Shailendra Mishra said he is hopeful the villagers would see reason.
Rajnagar Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) Dipali Mishra said that though no villager is ready to openly cite casteism, it is a fact that after Sharmistha joined, no child has come to the centre. “We visited the village twice and the women feigned ignorance, stating that they are not decision-makers in their homes. They clearly don’t want a Dalit woman at the Anganwadi centre. It is the men who decide and impose it on everyone in the family. If needed, we will seek police support,” she said.
The post of helper at the centre had remained vacant for a long period. In 2024, the CDPO issued a notification to fill the position but received no applications. A fresh notification was issued in November last year, to which Sethi applied as the sole candidate. She was appointed soon after.
Before her appointment, around 20 children aged between three and six years attended the centre regularly. Since November 21, attendance has dropped to zero, rendering the centre non-functional for nearly three months.
“The Anganwadi centre has been closed for three months because we cannot accept the newly appointed helper. Traditional caste practices are followed in our village, and we will not send children or take the food supplies,” a villager said.
Sethi said a few families initially collected eggs and chhatua but stopped after being threatened by other villagers. “The villagers are neither sending their children nor accepting nutrition like eggs and chhatua for the kids as well as lactating mothers. It is very painful. I have come up through a lot of hardship. It is disheartening to see parents shun the centre because of my caste,” she said.