Families in Nuagaon village, Kendrapara district, Odisha, have reportedly ceased sending their children to a local Anganwadi following the appointment of Sarmistha Sethi, a Scheduled Caste cook, in November last year.
Sarmistha Sethi stated she began working at the Anganwadi on November 20, but children have not attended since because of her caste. “I joined on 20 November last year. Students are not coming here because I belong to the Scheduled Caste. It has been three months like this. Something like this should not happen in the education sector. I am a cook here. The sub-collector officer and tehsildar also know about this issue,” she said.
Sub-Collector of Kendrapara, Arun Kumar Nayak, said he visited the Anganwadi and discovered villagers refusing to accept the cooked food, although no formal complaint regarding caste discrimination has been filed. He assured that the matter will be resolved promptly and that action will be taken if civil rights violations occur. “I went there yesterday and inquired with a few villagers and the candidate herself. Although it was not clear from anyone, we have not received any complaint regarding any kind of caste issue. I came to know that villagers are not taking any cooked food from that Anganwadi centre. We will sort out the issue very soon. Tomorrow we will do a massive campaign. If it is a case of violation of civil rights, then we will act accordingly,” he stated.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, raised concerns on February 14 about alleged caste discrimination at workplaces. Referring to the incident in Odisha during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, he highlighted that some families refused to allow their children to eat food prepared by a Dalit Anganwadi worker. Kharge remarked that such discrimination undermines social reform and unity in the 21st century, noting that the Anganwadi centre had been boycotted for three months.
He emphasised that Anganwadis are fundamental to children’s physical and cognitive development, asserting that these discriminatory practices affect their growth and infringe upon the right to education under Article 21A of the Constitution.
Courtesy : TNM
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