Ballohਬੱਲੋਹ

Where is Balloh?

Balloh is a village in Rampura Phul tehsil of Bathinda district in Punjab, India. It lies in the Malwa region, and the 2011 directory recorded Rampura Phul, about 8 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Rampura community development block and is served by the Jeondan gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 035675, and it covers 1,326 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 4,446 people in Balloh: 2,349 men and 2,097 women, living in 872 households, an average of about 5.1 people per household. Spread over its 1,326 hectares, the population density works out to about 335 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 893 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 457, about 10 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 1,631 people, about 37 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 60.39 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 64.89 per cent and women at 55.44 per cent. The census recorded 1,928 workers, about 43 per cent of the village. Of the 1,446 main workers, the largest group, 640, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 386 agricultural labourers and 383 other workers in trade, transport and services. A further 482 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Balloh's land. Of the village's 1,326 hectares, 1,211 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (845 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (366 hectares). About 115 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 680 cultivators and 549 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.

Health facilities recorded inside the village in 2011 included a dispensary 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. It had no bank branch or ATM in the 2011 record; the nearest bank was more than ten kilometres away. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 15 hours a day.

Getting there

Balloh is reached by pucca roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Rampura Phul, about 8 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was more than ten kilometres away. Rampura Phul, the tehsil headquarters, and Bathinda, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Jeondan, Ghurela, Jaidan and Ghureli.

What is the population of Balloh?

The population of Balloh was 4,446 at the 2011 census, living in 872 households in Rampura Phul tehsil of Bathinda district.

What facilities does Balloh have?

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