Mehtaਮਹਿਤਾ

Where is Mehta?

Mehta is a village of Tapa tehsil in Barnala district, Punjab, in the Malwa region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Tapa, about 5 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Sehna community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 040048, and it covers 549 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 2,304 people in Mehta: 1,223 men and 1,081 women, living in 420 households, an average of about 5.5 people per household. Spread over its 549 hectares, the population density works out to about 420 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 884 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 278, about 12 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 925 people, about 40 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 63.13 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 67.53 per cent and women at 58.12 per cent. The census recorded 677 workers, about 29 per cent of the village. Of the 572 main workers, the largest group, 319, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 130 other workers in trade, transport and services and 112 agricultural labourers. A further 105 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Mehta's land. Of the village's 549 hectares, 486 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (258 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (228 hectares). About 51 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 328 cultivators and 141 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 and one government middle school, so children can study in the village up to Class 8. 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. 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

Mehta is reached by pucca, all-weather roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Tapa, about 5 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was five to 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 Dhaula, Ghunas, Kahneke and Khudi Khurd.

What is the population of Mehta?

The population of Mehta was 2,304 at the 2011 census, living in 420 households in Tapa tehsil of Barnala district.

What facilities does Mehta have?

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