Balsaraiਬਲਸਰਾਏ

Where is Balsarai?

Balsarai is a village in Baba Bakala tehsil of Amritsar district in Punjab, India. It lies in the Majha region, and the 2011 directory recorded Rayya, about 12 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Rayya community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 037830, and it covers 676 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 5,790 people in Balsarai: 2,965 men and 2,825 women, living in 1,549 households, an average of about 3.7 people per household. Spread over its 676 hectares, the population density works out to about 857 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 953 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 517, about 9 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 1,658 people, about 29 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 81.07 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 86.06 per cent and women at 75.91 per cent. The census recorded 1,605 workers, about 28 per cent of the village. Of the 1,539 main workers, the largest group, 1,242, were other workers in trade, transport and services, ahead of 200 cultivators on their own land and 50 agricultural labourers. A further 66 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Balsarai's land. Of the village's 676 hectares, 465 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (51 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (414 hectares). About 211 hectares were under non-agricultural uses such as the village settlement, roads and ponds. Farm power supply was recorded at 8 hours a day. With 208 cultivators and 55 agricultural labourers in the census, most farm work in the village is done by landholding families themselves.

Schools and facilities

The Census 2011 Village Directory gives the fullest picture of village facilities. Education in the village runs through one government primary school, one government middle school and one government secondary school, so children can study in the village up to Class 10. The village also had an anganwadi centre and an ASHA health worker.

No health facility was recorded inside the village in 2011. Treated tap water was available in the village. The village had a sub post office. It also had a PDS ration shop and mobile phone coverage. It had no bank branch or ATM in the 2011 record; the nearest bank was five to ten kilometres away. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 12 hours a day.

Getting there

Balsarai is reached by pucca, all-weather roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Rayya, about 12 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was five to ten kilometres away. Baba Bakala, the tehsil headquarters, and Amritsar city, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Dera Baba Jaimal Singh, Sathiala, Waraich and Jodhe.

What is the population of Balsarai?

The population of Balsarai was 5,790 at the 2011 census, living in 1,549 households in Baba Bakala tehsil of Amritsar district.

What facilities does Balsarai have?

According to the Census 2011 Village Directory, Balsarai has government schools from primary to secondary school level, an anganwadi centre and a sub post office. It had no bank branch inside the village in that record.