Malkanaਮਾਲਕਾਣਾ

Where is Malkana?

Malkana is a village of Talwandi Sabo tehsil in Bathinda district, Punjab, in the Malwa region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Raman, about 2 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Talwandi Sabo community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 035857, and it covers 2,448 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 4,714 people in Malkana: 2,523 men and 2,191 women, living in 900 households, an average of about 5.2 people per household. Spread over its 2,448 hectares, the population density works out to about 193 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 868 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 492, about 10 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 1,489 people, about 32 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 57.7 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 64.01 per cent and women at 50.43 per cent. The census recorded 2,360 workers, about 50 per cent of the village. Of the 1,719 main workers, the largest group, 897, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 432 other workers in trade, transport and services and 386 agricultural labourers. A further 641 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Malkana's land. Of the village's 2,448 hectares, 2,291 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (2,291 hectares). About 155 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 926 cultivators and 589 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, one government secondary school and one government senior secondary school, so children can study in the village up to Class 12. The village also had an anganwadi centre and an ASHA health worker.

Health facilities recorded inside the village in 2011 included a primary health centre, a dispensary and a veterinary hospital. Treated tap water was available in the village. The village had a sub post office. It also had 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

Malkana is reached by pucca roads; the nearest bus service was five to ten kilometres away. The directory recorded Raman, about 2 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was five to ten kilometres away. Talwandi Sabo, the tehsil headquarters, and Bathinda, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Tungwali, Jajjal, Jogewala and Kamalu.

What is the population of Malkana?

The population of Malkana was 4,714 at the 2011 census, living in 900 households in Talwandi Sabo tehsil of Bathinda district.

What facilities does Malkana have?

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