Sialkaਸਿਆਲਕਾ

Where is Sialka?

Sialka is a village of Baba Bakala tehsil in Amritsar district, Punjab, in the Majha region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Jandiala, about 17 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Tarsika community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 037771, and it covers 247 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 1,313 people in Sialka: 677 men and 636 women, living in 253 households, an average of about 5.2 people per household. Spread over its 247 hectares, the population density works out to about 532 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 939 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 152, about 12 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 499 people, about 38 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 73.64 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 78.11 per cent and women at 68.96 per cent. The census recorded 367 workers, about 28 per cent of the village. Of the 335 main workers, the largest group, 115, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 108 agricultural labourers and 95 other workers in trade, transport and services. A further 32 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Sialka's land. Of the village's 247 hectares, 227 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from wells and tube-wells (227 hectares). About 20 hectares were under non-agricultural uses such as the village settlement, roads and ponds. Farm power supply was recorded at 8 hours a day. The census recorded 116 cultivators and 130 agricultural labourers, so farming supports many labouring families as well as landholders.

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 and one government middle school, so children can study in the village up to Class 8. The village also had an anganwadi centre and an ASHA health worker.

No health facility was recorded inside the village in 2011. 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 within five kilometres. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 12 hours a day.

Getting there

Sialka is reached by pucca, all-weather roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Jandiala, about 17 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was more than 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 Kazikot, Mehmudpura, Bathu Chak and Uchoke Kalan.

What is the population of Sialka?

The population of Sialka was 1,313 at the 2011 census, living in 253 households in Baba Bakala tehsil of Amritsar district.

What facilities does Sialka have?

According to the Census 2011 Village Directory, Sialka has government schools from primary to middle school level and an anganwadi centre. It had no bank branch inside the village in that record.