Kendrapada: Two days after a caste row over the engagement of a Dalit woman as an Anganwadi helper in Odisha’s Kendrapada was raised in Parliament, the district administration on Saturday said that the matter had been resolved through negotiations.
According to Rajnagar sub-collector Arun Nayak, the matter has been amicably resolved as villagers have agreed to send their children to the Anganwadi centre from Monday.
He said 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, Nayak said.
Notably, the centre had been shut after tensions emerged among villagers over caste issues, disrupting access to essential childcare and nutrition services. The Anganwadi centre in Nuagaon village had remained closed for over 80 days due to strong opposition from some villagers over the appointment of a Scheduled Caste (SC) woman as a helper.
After talks, a consensus was reached to resume operations. As per the decision, children will begin attending the Anganwadi Centre again from Monday and avail of the government-provided facilities.
Awareness programmes were organised with the help of Pala artists, and villagers took pledges aimed at fostering unity and preventing such disputes in the future.
Officials said that the post of Anganwadi helper had been vacant for a long time. In 2024, the Child Development Project Officer had issued a notification to fill the position, but no applications were received. A fresh notification was issued in November 2025, after which a local resident applied for the post. Being the sole applicant, she was appointed as the Anganwadi helper on November 20.
