Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Feb 2:

The aanganwadi workers of Khurda district in Odisha staged a sit-in in front of Khandagiri police station of Bhubaneswar to protest against the title of a play ‘Aanganwadi Didi’, which they alleged was derogatory to them on  Sunday night and demanded the arrest of the writer.

anganwadi workers protest

Earlier in the day, the aanganwadi workers created a ruckus in front of the Yatra Party (touring theatre group) ‘Biswa Darbar’ and tore apart the posters depicting the name and burnt them and staged a dharna in front of the yatra party camp.

The yatra party was forced to close its ticket sales keeping the situation in mind. It agreed to change the name of the play to ‘Adarsha Didi’ in presence of the police to diffuse the situation. However, later in the day, without notifying the concerned groups, they decided to go ahead with the same name.

More than a hundred workers from Khurda District Aanganwadi Workers' Association and Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh staged a dharna in front of Khandagiri Police Station forcing it to use the name to ‘Adarsha Didi’ and start the play much later than originally scheduled. The protests went on till 11 PM.

Khandagiri Police had a tough time handling the situation as the protesting workers started arguing with the cops accusing them of doing nothing against the yatra party for violating the agreement earlier in the day.

The workers complained that they are contributing to the society in various ways from education and health care for a paltry salary. In naming the play as it, the yatra group had sought ot show them in poor light, they alleged.