Pakhokeਪੱਖੋਕੇ

Where is Pakhoke?

Pakhoke is a village of Barnala tehsil in Barnala district, Punjab, in the Malwa region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Barnala, about 13 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 040002, and it covers 790 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 3,247 people in Pakhoke: 1,697 men and 1,550 women, living in 608 households, an average of about 5.3 people per household. Spread over its 790 hectares, the population density works out to about 411 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 913 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 370, about 11 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 1,037 people, about 32 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 64.62 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 67.33 per cent and women at 61.62 per cent. The census recorded 1,008 workers, about 31 per cent of the village. Of the 829 main workers, the largest group, 369, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 354 other workers in trade, transport and services and 90 agricultural labourers. A further 179 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Pakhoke's land. Of the village's 790 hectares, 719 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (482 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (237 hectares). About 29 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 390 cultivators and 206 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 and one government secondary school, so children can study in the village up to Class 10. The village also had an anganwadi centre.

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 five to ten kilometres away. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 12 hours a day.

Getting there

Pakhoke 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 13 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 Cheema, Malian, Kaire and Bakhatgarh.

What is the population of Pakhoke?

The population of Pakhoke was 3,247 at the 2011 census, living in 608 households in Barnala tehsil of Barnala district.

What facilities does Pakhoke have?

According to the Census 2011 Village Directory, Pakhoke 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.