Kendrapara/Rajnagar: A three-month-long caste row at an Anganwadi centre in a village of Kendrapara district ended Monday as upper caste children returned to the facility and consumed food cooked by a Dalit woman helper. Of the 20 children on the roll, 16 came to the Anganwadi centre in Nuagaon village under Ghalimala gram panchayat with their parents and accepted the food cooked by the helper, with the absentees reporting ill.
The Anganwadi centre had remained shut since November 21 last year, following the appointment of Sharmistha Sethy, a Dalit woman, as a helper, with several upper-caste families refusing to send their wards to the facility or even accept nutritious food items supplied by the government for pregnant women and lactating mothers. The caste row triggered nationwide outrage, and the matter was even raised in Parliament, with Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, voicing concern over caste discrimination in the workplace.
On Monday, Kendrapara Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) Dipali Mishra and Rajnagar MLA Dhruba Charan Sahoo were present at the Anganwadi centre to welcome the children. “I served ragi ladoos to the children.
Later, I cooked rice and ‘dalma’ (vegetable curry) and served the children. Seeing them eat the meals made me overjoyed. They also played with toys, bringing back life to the centre, which was left deserted for around three months,” Sethy said. “I hope caste discrimination will not lurk its ugly head in the village anymore,” she added. CDPO Mishra said the children, flanked by their guardians, had joyous moments at the centre. “The centre functioned sans the children for almost three months due to some villagers’ disagreement over the appointment of Sharmistha Sethy as the helper. Now, the vibrancy is back,” Mishra said.
On the absentees, the CDPO said they could not join as they are not well. “We hope the absentee children will come to the centre Tuesday as the dispute has been resolved. People have decided to relegate the differences to the background. This is heartening,” she added. Rajnagar MLA Dhurba Cha ran Sahoo said, “The issue is now a thing of the past. I hope the camaraderie among the villagers will remain intact.”
State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) member Sujata Nayak hailed the children’s return to the centre and said the commission will launch an awareness drive aimed at safeguarding the rights of the children. Kendrapara Sub-Collector Arun Nayak had earlier said the matter was resolved in the presence of stakeholders.
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