Wachhoaਵਛੋਆ

Where is Wachhoa?

Wachhoa is a village of Ajnala tehsil in Amritsar district, Punjab, in the Majha region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Ajnala, about 8 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Ajnala community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 037349, and it covers 763 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 3,296 people in Wachhoa: 1,757 men and 1,539 women, living in 667 households, an average of about 4.9 people per household. Spread over its 763 hectares, the population density works out to about 432 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 876 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 444, about 13 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 1,173 people, about 36 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 69.35 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 74.7 per cent and women at 63.34 per cent. The census recorded 1,045 workers, about 32 per cent of the village. Of the 933 main workers, the largest group, 331, were agricultural labourers, ahead of 323 other workers in trade, transport and services and 272 cultivators on their own land. A further 112 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Wachhoa's land. Of the village's 763 hectares, 665 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (380 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (285 hectares). About 98 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 284 cultivators and 386 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, 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 primary health centre, a primary health sub-centre, 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 18 hours a day.

Getting there

Wachhoa 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 8 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was five to ten kilometres away. Ajnala, the tehsil headquarters, and Amritsar city, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Loharka, Dial Bharang, Mattey Nangal and Kamalpura.

What is the population of Wachhoa?

The population of Wachhoa was 3,296 at the 2011 census, living in 667 households in Ajnala tehsil of Amritsar district.

What facilities does Wachhoa have?

According to the Census 2011 Village Directory, Wachhoa 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.