Gehalਗੇਹਲ

Where is Gehal?

Gehal is a village in Tapa tehsil of Barnala district in Punjab, India. It lies in the Malwa region, and the 2011 directory recorded Barnala, about 22 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 040080, and it covers 1,572 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 4,311 people in Gehal: 2,295 men and 2,016 women, living in 820 households, an average of about 5.3 people per household. Spread over its 1,572 hectares, the population density works out to about 274 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 878 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 427, about 10 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 985 people, about 23 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 71.01 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 73.19 per cent and women at 68.55 per cent. The census recorded 1,454 workers, about 34 per cent of the village. Of the 1,188 main workers, the largest group, 575, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 325 other workers in trade, transport and services and 253 agricultural labourers. A further 266 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Gehal's land. Of the village's 1,572 hectares, 1,349 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (567 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (782 hectares). About 215 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 606 cultivators and 356 agricultural labourers in the census, most farm work in the village is done by landholding families themselves.

Schools and facilities

The Census 2011 Village Directory gives the fullest picture of village facilities. Education in the village runs through one government primary school, one government middle school and one government secondary school, so children can study in the village up to Class 10. The village also had an anganwadi centre and an ASHA health worker.

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

Getting there

Gehal is reached by pucca roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Barnala, about 22 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was more than ten kilometres away. Tapa, the tehsil headquarters, and Barnala town, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Bhila, Naraingarh Sohian, Ramgarh and Diwana.

What is the population of Gehal?

The population of Gehal was 4,311 at the 2011 census, living in 820 households in Tapa tehsil of Barnala district.

What facilities does Gehal have?

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