Gurmਗੁਰਮ

Where is Gurm?

Gurm is a village in Barnala tehsil of Barnala district in Punjab, India. It lies in the Malwa region, and the 2011 directory recorded Barnala, about 23 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Barnala community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 040018, and it covers 739 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 2,595 people in Gurm: 1,368 men and 1,227 women, living in 498 households, an average of about 5.2 people per household. Spread over its 739 hectares, the population density works out to about 351 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 897 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 270, about 10 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 1,010 people, about 39 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 68.26 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 72.53 per cent and women at 63.57 per cent. The census recorded 792 workers, about 31 per cent of the village. Of the 736 main workers, the largest group, 342, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 265 other workers in trade, transport and services and 111 agricultural labourers. A further 56 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Gurm's land. Of the village's 739 hectares, 687 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (35 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (652 hectares). About 49 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 348 cultivators and 129 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.

Health facilities recorded inside the village in 2011 included a primary health sub-centre and a veterinary hospital. Treated tap water was available in the village. The village had its own post office. It also had a PDS ration shop and mobile phone coverage. Banking was available in the village itself, with a cooperative bank branch. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 12 hours a day.

Getting there

Gurm is reached by village roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Barnala, about 23 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was five to 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 Hamidi, Gumti, Bazidke Khurd and Thuliwal.

What is the population of Gurm?

The population of Gurm was 2,595 at the 2011 census, living in 498 households in Barnala tehsil of Barnala district.

What facilities does Gurm have?

According to the Census 2011 Village Directory, Gurm has government schools from primary to secondary school level, an anganwadi centre and a post office.