As Vantangiya village Jungle Tikonia Number Three gears up for Diwali, the excitement is palpable. Amidst the Kusmhi forest, the villagers are busy cleaning, painting, and decorating their homes in preparation for the arrival of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
This annual visit has become a cherished tradition, as CM Yogi celebrates Deepotsav alongside the community. For the villagers, this visit embodies both festive joy and a deep connection with the chief minister, turning the event into a time of shared gratitude and anticipation.
The local administration is actively engaged in preparations, while villagers join in with enthusiasm, creating a collective, heartfelt welcome.
The chief minister will visit the village on October 31 (Thursday) to celebrate Diwali and announce development projects worth Rs 185 crore for gram panchayats across the district.
During the Deepotsav in Vantangiya village, CM Yogi will inaugurate drinking water projects funded by Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (Rural) across 42 villages, with a total investment of Rs 150.35 crore.
Additionally, he will launch development projects in 32 gram panchayats, implemented at a cost of Rs 34.66 crore from the performance grant.
As part of the Diwali celebration, various departments will set up stalls at the event to share information on the government’s public welfare schemes.
Meanwhile, both the administration and villagers are engaged in extensive preparations for the chief minister’s visit.
Yogi has been celebrating Diwali in this village since 2009, starting as an MP, and since becoming chief minister in 2017, he has continued this cherished tradition. This Thursday, he will celebrate Diwali with the Vantangiya community for the eighth consecutive time as chief minister.
With Yogi’s involvement, the longstanding neglect of the Vantangiyas transformed into fulfilled hopes. As an MP, he advocated for their rights in the Lok Sabha, securing official recognition of their settlement in 2010.
Upon becoming chief minister in 2017, he granted Vantangiya villages the status of revenue villages, making them eligible for all government facilities.
Since then, he has brought vital resources to these villages, including housing, roads, electricity, water, and schools, while ensuring residents benefit from various public welfare schemes.
During British rule, when railway tracks were being laid, sakhu trees were extensively cut from forests for use as sleepers. To replenish these forests, the British government settled poor, landless people and labourers within the forests to plant and care for new trees.
Using Burma’s ‘Tangiya’ method to cultivate the sakhu forests, those who lived in the forests to carry out this work became known as Vantangiyas.
In 1918, five settlements for this community were established in Kusmhi forest areas: Jungle Tinkonia Number Three, Rajhi Khale Tola, Rajhi Nursery, Ambag Nursery, and Chilbilwa. Additionally, 18 villages were later settled in various forest areas of Maharajganj.
Though India gained independence in 1947, the Vantangiyas’ lives remained largely unchanged, much like during colonial times. This forest-dwelling community was not granted citizenship and had no access to the rights and facilities available to citizens.
Forest restrictions allowed only huts, leaving few livelihood options beyond gathering leaves and working as labourers. They also lived in constant fear of eviction by the Forest department.
In 1998, Yogi Adityanath was elected as the MP of Gorakhpur for the first time. He soon became aware that Naxalites were increasing their activities within the Vantangiya settlements. To counter this, Yogi decided to bring education and healthcare services to these communities.
He mobilised resources from Maharana Pratap Shiksha Parishad, including MP Krishak Inter College, MPPG College Jungle Dhusar, and the mobile medical unit of Guru Shri Gorakhnath Hospital, managed by Gorakhnath Temple, to serve the area. These efforts, initiated in Jungle Tinkonia Number Three Vantangiya village in 2003, began to show results by 2007.
Ramganesh, the village Kotedaar, recalls that Yogi Adityanath, whom the Vantangiya community reverently calls ‘Maharaj Ji’, emerged as a saviour. In 2009, Yogi’s associates constructed a temporary school with asbestos sheets for Vantangiya children in Jungle Tinkonia Number Three.
