Chhapaਛਾਪਾ

Where is Chhapa?

Chhapa is a village of Barnala tehsil in Barnala district, Punjab, in the Malwa region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Barnala, about 34 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Mehal Kalan community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 040037, and it covers 955 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 3,702 people in Chhapa: 1,954 men and 1,748 women, living in 681 households, an average of about 5.4 people per household. Spread over its 955 hectares, the population density works out to about 388 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 895 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 381, about 10 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 1,116 people, about 30 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 72.09 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 75.43 per cent and women at 68.35 per cent. The census recorded 1,348 workers, about 36 per cent of the village. Of the 909 main workers, the largest group, 545, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 177 other workers in trade, transport and services and 166 agricultural labourers. A further 439 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Chhapa's land. Of the village's 955 hectares, 744 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (451 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (293 hectares). About 68 hectares were under non-agricultural uses such as the village settlement, roads and ponds. Farm power supply was recorded at 6 hours a day. With 585 cultivators and 381 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 primary health sub-centre, an allopathic hospital and a veterinary hospital. Drinking water came from untreated tap water supplies. 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

Chhapa is reached by pucca, all-weather roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Barnala, about 34 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 Hardaspura, Lohgarh and Kutba.

What is the population of Chhapa?

The population of Chhapa was 3,702 at the 2011 census, living in 681 households in Barnala tehsil of Barnala district.

What facilities does Chhapa have?

According to the Census 2011 Village Directory, Chhapa 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.