Caste row over Dalit woman’s engagement at anganwadi centre in Odisha resolved, says official

Two days after a caste row over the engagement of a Dalit woman as an anganwadi helper was raised in Parliament, Odisha’s Kendrapara district administration on Saturday (February 14, 2026) said the matter had been resolved through negotiations.

Kendrapara district sub-collector Arun Nayak said the matter has been amicably resolved as villagers have agreed to send their children to the anganwadi centre from Monday (February 16, 2026).

“Final talks with upper-caste residents, who had stopped sending their children to the centre since November 21, were held in the presence of stakeholders, including members of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and Odisha State Commission for Women. The officials sensitised villagers on the abolition of age-old caste practices,” he said.

The anganwadi centre will function normally from Monday (February 16, 2026) as the parents consented to send their children, Sujata Nayak, member, state commission for protection of child rights, said.

The dispute arose in Nuagaon village under Ghalimala gram panchayat, where residents boycotted the centre for nearly three months, also refusing to receive nutritious food items for pregnant women, protesting the engagement of Sharmistha Sethy, a Dalit woman, as helper.

“I am happy that the matter is resolved. I am desperate to see children back in the anganwadi centre and women receiving their nutritious food items provided by the government,” said Ms. Sethy.

“I will try my best to serve the children and women,” she said.

Kharge on anganwadi boycott

Congress president and leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, on February 12 had raised concerns over caste discrimination at workplaces, citing a recent incident in Odisha where members of a particular community refused to let their children eat food cooked by a Dalit anganwadi worker.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Upper House, Mr. Kharge said, “In the 21st century, when we talk about social development, social reform, and the unity of Hindus, people of a particular community are refusing to let their children eat food cooked by a Dalit woman who is a helper-cum-cook in an anganwadi centre in Odisha. That anganwadi centre has been boycotted for the last three months.”

An official said as the centre remained shut for all practical purposes, the district administration initiated steps to amicably settle the dispute by deputing a high-level team to the village, but it initially failed.

The protesting residents finally agreed after realising that depriving children of pre-school education could harm their future.

Kalpana Mallik, member of Odisha State Commission for Women, said she had elaborate discussions with the villagers before they finally agreed to stop opposing an educated woman on the basis of her caste.

“We are hopeful that such incidents will not be repeated in the village in future. The Nuagaon village has a population of 450. The camaraderie, bonding and fellow feeling among the people is very much intact. The recent incident was a stray case,” sarpanch Sailendra Mishra said.

Villager Gobardhan Pradhan said, “We have forgotten the dispute of the past. We will no more oppose the Dalit anganwadi helper’s engagement at the centre.”