Odisha anganwadi shut for 3 months after Dalit woman’s appointment as cook

Parents in a village in Odisha’s Kendrapada district have stopped sending their children to an anganwadi centre after a 23-year-old Dalit woman was appointed as helper-cum-cook, forcing the facility to remain shut for nearly three months, TOI reported. Authorities are yet to resolve the impasse, affecting around 60 children and pregnant women who depend on the centre for nutrition and health services.

Sarmista Sethi, a graduate, was appointed about four months ago at the Nuagaon centre under Ghadiamala gram panchayat in Rajnagar block. Soon after her posting on November 24, 2025, the village committee, comprising mostly upper-caste members, decided to stop sending children to the centre in protest. According to TOI, parents told anganwadi worker Lizarani Pandav that their children would not eat food prepared by a Dalit woman. The village committee head reportedly instructed families, including Dalit households, not to send their children.

Sarmista told TOI that some upper-caste villagers warned her not to cook for the children and that when she refused, parents stopped sending them. She said even women had stopped visiting the centre.


The village has around 45 families, including seven Dalit families.

Officials attempt to resolve deadlock

Ghadiamala sarpanch Sailendra Mishra told TOI that efforts were made to persuade villagers to send children and pregnant women back to the centre, but they did not comply. He said pregnant women were losing out on essential health benefits.

Lizarani said she informed the chief development project officer (CDPO) of Rajnagar block, who assured that action would be taken. CDPO Dipali Mishra told TOI that many upper-caste parents opposed their children consuming food cooked by a Dalit woman. She said discussions were held with villagers along with the Rajnagar tehsildar, but the issue remains unresolved.

Villager Ramakanta Das told TOI that many parents did not want their children to eat food prepared by the Dalit woman and therefore decided not to send them.

On Tuesday, a team of Dalit leaders visited the village and alleged administrative inaction. District president of Dalit Samaj Nagen Jena told TOI that the Supreme Court, in its April 20, 2004 interim order in PUCL vs Government of India, had stated that SC/ST candidates should be given priority as cooks in midday meal schemes.

Kendrapada district collector Raghuram R Iyer told TOI that he had directed the district social welfare officer to submit a detailed report. He said action would be taken against those who barred children and others from attending the centre and that efforts were underway to resolve the matter amicably.