Bhaini Mehrajਭੈਣੀ ਮੇਹਰਜ

Where is Bhaini Mehraj?

Bhaini Mehraj is a village of Barnala tehsil in Barnala district, Punjab, in the Malwa region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Dhanaula, about 5 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Barnala community development block and is served by the Bhaini Majra gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 039973, and it covers 1,622 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 4,651 people in Bhaini Mehraj: 2,477 men and 2,174 women, living in 861 households, an average of about 5.4 people per household. Spread over its 1,622 hectares, the population density works out to about 287 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 878 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 481, about 10 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 1,343 people, about 29 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 60.89 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 64.03 per cent and women at 57.32 per cent. The census recorded 1,633 workers, about 35 per cent of the village. Of the 1,212 main workers, the largest group, 654, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 280 agricultural labourers and 245 other workers in trade, transport and services. A further 421 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Bhaini Mehraj's land. Of the village's 1,622 hectares, 1,469 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (859 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (610 hectares). About 134 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 666 cultivators and 433 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.

No health facility was recorded inside the village in 2011. Drinking water came from untreated tap water supplies. It also had 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

Bhaini Mehraj is reached by pucca roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Dhanaula, about 5 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was more than ten kilometres away. Barnala, the tehsil headquarters, and Barnala town, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Badbar, Bhathlan, Harigarh and Kattu.

What is the population of Bhaini Mehraj?

The population of Bhaini Mehraj was 4,651 at the 2011 census, living in 861 households in Barnala tehsil of Barnala district.

What facilities does Bhaini Mehraj have?

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