Gorakhpur, November 2026 : Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will once again celebrate Diwali with members of the Vantangiya community at Jungle Tikonia Number Three, a settlement located in the Kusumhi forest, about 15 km from Gorakhpur district headquarters. The village is eagerly preparing to welcome the Chief Minister, who has maintained the annual tradition of celebrating the festival with the community for several years.
The village is witnessing an atmosphere of excitement as residents clean, paint and decorate their homes and courtyards ahead of his visit. For the Vantangiya families, the occasion holds special significance, with the festival lights in many homes dedicated to their 'Yogi Baba'.
On Sunday, November 8, Adityanath will celebrate the festival of lights with the community, which remained deprived of basic rights and facilities for decades. During the visit, he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for 52 development projects worth a total of Rs 82.41 crore.
The projects include an interlocking road to improve external connectivity to the Vantangiya settlement, an eco-park in Kusumhi forest and a Global Nagar Bazaar in Pipraich.
The tradition of celebrating Diwali with the Vantangiya community began when Adityanath was a Member of Parliament from Gorakhpur and the successor of the Gorakshapeeth. He continued the practice after becoming Chief Minister, making the village the starting point of his annual Diwali celebrations.
The community's association with Adityanath dates back to his efforts to secure basic rights, education, healthcare and social recognition for people who had faced nearly a century of neglect.
A community settled in forests but lived under threat of eviction
The Vantangiya settlements originated during British rule, when large numbers of Sal trees were felled to manufacture railway sleepers. To compensate for the loss of forest cover, the British administration brought landless labourers and poor families into forest areas to plant and maintain new Sal trees.
The system used for developing these forests was based on the 'Taungya method' practised in Burma. People who lived in the forests and looked after the plantations came to be known as Vantangiyas.
In 1918, five settlements were established in the Kusumhi forest area: Jungle Tikonia Number Three, Rajhi Khale Tola, Rajhi Nursery, Ambagh Nursery and Chilbilwa. Eighteen other Vantangiya villages also came up at different locations in the forests of Maharajganj district.
Even after India gained independence in 1947, the community continued to live in difficult conditions. Its members did not enjoy the status and rights available to ordinary citizens. They were not permitted to construct permanent structures in the forest, apart from basic huts, and depended largely on collecting and selling leaves and working as labourers for their livelihood. They also lived under the constant threat of eviction by the Forest Department.
Adityanath's intervention brought education and healthcare
Adityanath became the Gorakhpur MP for the first time in 1998 and subsequently took up the issues faced by the Vantangiya settlements. His initial focus was on extending education and healthcare services to the community.
Institutions associated with the Maharana Pratap Shiksha Parishad, including MP Krishak Inter College and MP PG College, Jungle Dhusar, along with the mobile medical service of Guru Shri Gorakshnath Hospital run by the Gorakhnath Temple, were involved in these efforts.
The initiatives at Jungle Tikonia Number Three began in 2003 and started taking shape by 2007.
A resident, Ramganesh, recalled the difficult circumstances in which the community lived and said that without Adityanath's intervention, many families might have continued to suffer in poverty and deprivation.
The effort to educate Vantangiya children also brought legal challenges. In 2009, when a temporary school was being constructed using asbestos sheets with the assistance of Adityanath's associates, the Forest Department filed a case, alleging that the construction was illegal. Adityanath argued in favour of the school, and the institution eventually came up. The school, now known as Gorakshnath Hindu Vidyapeeth, stands as a reminder of those efforts.
From forest settlements to revenue villages
Adityanath began celebrating Diwali with the Vantangiya community in 2009. The tradition continued after he became Chief Minister, irrespective of the circumstances.
After assuming office, he took steps to address the community's long-standing demand for recognition and basic facilities. During his tenure, the Vantangiya settlements were granted the status of revenue villages in the first year of his government. This enabled residents to access facilities and welfare schemes available to other citizens.
The change extended beyond Jungle Tikonia Number Three to 23 Vantangiya villages across Gorakhpur and Maharajganj.
These villages have since received facilities such as permanent houses, roads, electricity, drinking water, schools, streetlights, Anganwadi centres and RO water machines. Eligible families have benefited from housing schemes, agricultural land allotments, Aadhaar cards, ration cards and cooking gas connections. Children attend schools, while eligible elderly people, widows and persons with disabilities receive pensions.
Residents continue to express gratitude for the changes. Ramganesh said the village's development had been made possible through the Chief Minister's intervention and that Diwali now felt incomplete without his visit.
Development projects worth Rs 82.41 crore
During Sunday's programme, Adityanath will inaugurate 26 completed projects worth Rs 4.43 crore and lay the foundation stones for another 26 projects costing Rs 77.97 crore.
A major project is the interlocking road connecting Rajhi Crossing to the Pipraich road through Jungle Tikonia Number Three. The road will be constructed at a cost of Rs 3.65 crore and is expected to improve connectivity for Vantangiya residents.
The Chief Minister will also lay the foundation stone for an eco-park in Kusumhi forest, to be developed at a cost of Rs 4.84 crore. The facility will include Swiss cottages and other visitor amenities, with the aim of promoting eco-tourism in the forest area.
Another key project is the Global Nagar Bazaar in Pipraich Nagar Panchayat, which will be developed at a cost of Rs 1.91 crore. The market is expected to improve local trading infrastructure and encourage commercial activity.
The annual Diwali gathering will thus combine the community's traditional celebrations with the inauguration of development projects aimed at improving infrastructure and economic opportunities in the region.
