Kharaਖਾਰਾ

Where is Khara?

Khara is a village of Kot Kapura tehsil in Faridkot district, Punjab, in the Malwa region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Kot Kapura, about 12 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Kot Kapura community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 035466, and it covers 1,798 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 5,562 people in Khara: 2,943 men and 2,619 women, living in 1,055 households, an average of about 5.3 people per household. Spread over its 1,798 hectares, the population density works out to about 309 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 890 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 565, about 10 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 1,660 people, about 30 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 66.72 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 72.31 per cent and women at 60.48 per cent. The census recorded 2,263 workers, about 41 per cent of the village. Of the 1,971 main workers, the largest group, 1,056, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 557 other workers in trade, transport and services and 310 agricultural labourers. A further 292 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Khara's land. Of the village's 1,798 hectares, 1,669 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (1,069 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (600 hectares). About 129 hectares were under non-agricultural uses such as the village settlement, roads and ponds. Farm power supply was recorded at 8 hours a day. With 1,116 cultivators and 371 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.

No health facility was recorded inside the village in 2011. Drinking water came from untreated tap water supplies. The village had a sub post office. It also had a PDS ration shop, mobile phone coverage and an internet common service centre. Banking was available in the village itself, with a cooperative bank branch. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 18 hours a day.

Getting there

Khara is reached by pucca roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Kot Kapura, about 12 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was five to ten kilometres away. Kot Kapura, the tehsil headquarters, and Faridkot town, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Maur, Wara Daraka, Thara and Wander Jatana.

What is the population of Khara?

The population of Khara was 5,562 at the 2011 census, living in 1,055 households in Kot Kapura tehsil of Faridkot district.

What facilities does Khara have?

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