Maharਮਹਰ

Where is Mahar?

Mahar is a village of Ajnala tehsil in Amritsar district, Punjab, in the Majha region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Ajnala, about 7 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Harsa Chhina community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 037320, and it covers 324 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 1,370 people in Mahar: 735 men and 635 women, living in 257 households, an average of about 5.3 people per household. Spread over its 324 hectares, the population density works out to about 423 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 864 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 136, about 10 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 498 people, about 36 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 78.61 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 83.38 per cent and women at 73.18 per cent. The census recorded 414 workers, about 30 per cent of the village. Of the 352 main workers, the largest group, 181, were other workers in trade, transport and services, ahead of 128 cultivators on their own land and 34 agricultural labourers. A further 62 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Mahar's land. Of the village's 324 hectares, 288 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from wells and tube-wells (288 hectares). About 35 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 138 cultivators and 44 agricultural labourers in the census, most farm work in the village is done by landholding families themselves.

Schools and facilities

For village facilities, the Census 2011 Village Directory is the fullest record available. Education in the village runs through one government primary school, one government middle school, one government secondary school and one government senior secondary school, so children can study in the village up to Class 12. The village also had an anganwadi centre and an ASHA health worker.

Health facilities recorded inside the village in 2011 included a dispensary and a veterinary hospital. 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 15 hours a day.

Getting there

Mahar is reached by pucca, all-weather roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Ajnala, about 7 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was more than ten kilometres away. Ajnala, the tehsil headquarters, and Amritsar city, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel.

What is the population of Mahar?

The population of Mahar was 1,370 at the 2011 census, living in 257 households in Ajnala tehsil of Amritsar district.

What facilities does Mahar have?

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