Villagers skip meeting convened by Odisha govt over Anganwadi boycott row

The nationwide outrage triggered by the three-month boycott of an Anganwadi centre following the appointment of a Dalit woman appears to have had little impact on the villagers, who skipped a meeting convened by the Kendrapara district administration in Odisha to resolve the crisis amicably on Wednesday (February 11, 2026).

A team of district level officials led by Kendrapara Sub-Collector had visited Nuagaon village under Ghadiamal gram panchayat in Rajnagar block where villagers had stopped sending their kids to Anganwadi centre after Sharmista Sethy, a 20-year-old graduate from the Dalit community, was given appointment as helper-cum-cook.

“We want villagers to send their children to Anganwadi centre as the absence is affecting their pre-school learning as well as healthy diets, as the government provides free of cost. However, only Sarpanch and ward member (elected representatives) and two villagers turned up for meeting,” said Deepali Mishra, Child Development Project Officer (CDPO).

According to sources, villagers are not attributing any reason for their boycott as they think it could attract legal complication. However, casteism was said to be root cause for the boycott, said a senior officer involved in mobilising villagers for amicable solution.

Ms. Misrha said, “we have asked Sarpanch and ward members to hold discussions with villagers and persuade them not to boycott Anganwadi. It was emphasised that normalcy should return to Anganwadi at the earliest.”

Ms. Sethy who was the lone candidate for helper-cum-cook in Anganwadi centre was appointed on November 20, 2025. To her utter surprise, parents stopped sending to Centre subsequent to her appointment. The 20-year-old woman pleaded before villagers to send their kids, but nobody paid heed. It needs to be mentioned that the woman hails from the same Nuagaon village.

The district administration had made it clear that under no circumstances the appointment would be withdrawn.