In line with its efforts to empower the backward and extremely backward communities of Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath Government has undertaken a series of initiatives in the last six years and one of the biggest beneficiaries of initiative has been the Vantangiya community.

Residing in the forests of Gonda, the Vantangiya community is being brought into the mainstream by the state government for the first time after 76 years of Independence.

The latest step in this context is connecting Ramgarh Vantangiya village in Gonda with the approach road of the Forest Department. The construction of the link road began on Tuesday. Furthermore, a proposal has been sent to the government to establish two government schools in the villages to provide better education to the children of the Vantangiya community.

District Magistrate Neha Sharma, after taking over the command of the district on June 12, 2023, inspected Ramgarh Vantangia of Gram Panchayat Hardua under Tehsil Tarabganj development block Nawabganj on June 16. During the inspection, she interacted with the villagers and women to gather information about their issues. Upon hearing the concerns raised by the villagers regarding road and school problems, Sharma issued instructions to the concerned officers for quick disposal.

The process of connecting the village with the approach road has begun under the supervision of Block Development Officer Raghavendra Pratap Singh. The villagers mentioned that the unpaved road made it difficult for them to move out of the village during the rainy season. However, the construction of this road will provide significant relief to the people of the community.

Neha Sharma said here on Tuesday that as per the intentions of CM Yogi, the district administration is committed to taking the benefits of public welfare schemes to every community. She added that the efforts have been initiated for the development of the Vantangiya community, and soon the results will be visible.

On the orders of the District Magistrate, a proposal to open two council schools in Vantangiya villages has been sent to the government from the office of the District Basic Education Officer. These schools are proposed to be opened in Butahani village of Mankapur and Maheshpur village of Tarbaganj.

The project plan and cost estimation report for school construction have been sent to the government and a budget of Rs 35.90 lakh has been requested for the construction of each school.

The Vantangiya community of Purvanchal despite having a long history in the state did not feature in the revenue records, which led to their exclusion from the mainstream of society and development. In May 2018, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath declared the Vantangiya villages of Gonda as revenue villages, connecting them to the mainstream society.

This inclusion by the chief minister allowed the residents of these forest villages to access basic amenities such as roads, rations, electricity, water, education, healthcare, and other essential services. Families of the Vantangiya community, who earn their living by selling jalauni woods (firewood), were able to exercise their right to vote for the first time after independence.