In a heartwarming attempt that transformed the lives of Lahuria Dah village residents in eastern Uttar Pradesh, District Magistrate Divya Mittal successfully facilitated the provision of piped water to their homes. However, despite this commendable achievement, Mittal has been transferred to Basti district in eastern UP and placed on a waiting list by the state government. This development has left the villagers disheartened.
The semi-arid region of Mirzapur district, where Lahuria Dah is situated, has had a long fight with water scarcity, with locals relying on tankers that provide minimal water supply, a distant reservoir, and a well that was repaired under Mittal’s leadership since her posting in September of the previous year.
On August 30, the village celebrated the arrival of piped water, marking a significant turning point in their daily lives. Following this, Mittal organised a “jal pujan” ceremony, symbolising the inauguration of the new water supply. However, on September 1, she was transferred to Basti district, leaving her work in Lahuria Dah unfinished.
After the small event at the village, Mittal had tweeted: “Today my heart is full. Water is flowing in Lahuriya Dah and through my eyes and the eyes of people there. Even after 75 years of Independence, people of the village did not have access to water… When I went there for the first time, I did not have the heart to drink water from my bottle in front of the villagers. Aadhaar cards were used to issue water through tankers. People did not marry their daughters to this village.”
“But yesterday, that changed. After dedicated work of nine months, our team beat the challenges of geography, finances and other logistics, achieving what people said was impossible. Today, through the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ scheme, piped connections to supply clean, safe water directly to every home in the village was started,” she wrote. “Days like today make all the struggle worth it… Together, we can make a difference and Together, we will! Jai Hind! Jai Bharat!”
However, local BJP leader Vipul Singh, the district’s vice president of the party, expressed disappointment in Mittal’s actions. He emphasised the importance of government protocol and culture in inaugurating such schemes and noted that the local representatives were not invited to the event.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Singh stated, “Lahuria village has had water issues for ages, and tankers have to be deployed. Lahuria village has had water issues for ages and tankers have to be deployed. It is under the ‘Har Ghar Jal Yojana’ that the Prime Minister and Chief Minister launched the scheme here and water reached the village. It is the District Magistrate’s responsibility to ensure that the scheme is implemented and water reaches villages. But the inauguration has to be done by someone from the government. This is the protocol, and culture too. The local MLA, MP, and others were not invited. Now, if such a thing is done, it is something to feel bad about.”
Tragically, the pipeline supplying water to the village was vandalized by “anti-social elements” on September 4, stopping the water supply once again.
For the villagers of Lahuria Dah, Mittal’s transfer has been deeply disheartening. Heeralal, the son of Anjaria Yadav, likened it to losing a loved one, and the community was left in shock and grief.
The village, with a population of approximately 1,500, is situated in one of the most underdeveloped regions of eastern Uttar Pradesh and is mainly inhabited by members of the Dalit community. The financial burden of providing water through tankers has left the Devhat gram sabha deeply indebted.
Kaushalendra Kumar Gupta, the village head for Devhat, which comprises 15 small villages including Lahuria Dah, said, “Since becoming pradhan, I have written to everyone—MPs, MLAs, ministers. But no one heard us. False promises were made. The new DM came, and I wrote to her, and she came here on November 2 last year. She promised she would give us water. And today, you can see that each house has taps and a water connection,” Gupta emphasised, sitting at the government primary school in the village.
Despite persistent efforts by village leaders to secure a water supply, it was only under Mittal’s leadership that Lahuria Dah received piped water connections in every household.
The villagers have faced social stigma due to the water crisis, with outsiders hesitating to marry their sons and daughters into families residing in the village.
With the pipeline now damaged, the village has reverted to relying on tankers, causing hardship for its residents, especially women and children, who must get water from distant sources.
As the village continues to struggle with water scarcity, Mittal’s transfer remains a debatable issue. The former exotic derivatives trader who transitioned to civil service has left an indelible mark on the community, and her work has been celebrated by locals.
Following her transfer order, Mittal took to Twitter to express her sentiments, saying, “Packing things at home today, my hands and heart feel heavy. In a government job, moving is part of the job, but the love given to me by Mirzapur will never be forgotten by me…”
On the day of her farewell, the residents of Lahuria Dah came together to show their gratitude. They organised five cars to transport 30-40 people to the district headquarters, where people from all corners of Mirzapur joined to express their appreciation for Mittal’s dedicated service. An emotional video clip captured the moment when rose petals were showered upon her, and a visibly moved Mittal extended her heartfelt thanks to the gathering.
Mittal, a highly educated individual with an MBA from IIM Bangalore and a B.Tech from IIT Delhi, expressed her gratitude for the support and love she received from Mirzapur residents, emphasising her happiness at the successful delivery of water to the village.