Bhekhowaliਭੇਖੋਵਾਲੀ

Where is Bhekhowali?

Bhekhowali is a village of Kalanaur tehsil in Gurdaspur district, Punjab, in the Majha region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Batala, about 11 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Dhariwal community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 028064, and it covers 128 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 753 people in Bhekhowali: 405 men and 348 women, living in 156 households, an average of about 4.8 people per household. Spread over its 128 hectares, the population density works out to about 588 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 859 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 84, about 11 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 240 people, about 32 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 83.86 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 89.11 per cent and women at 77.81 per cent. The census recorded 225 workers, about 30 per cent of the village. Of the 201 main workers, the largest group, 103, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 86 other workers in trade, transport and services and 10 agricultural labourers. A further 24 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Bhekhowali's land. Of the village's 128 hectares, 106 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (36 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (70 hectares). Farm power supply was recorded at 8 hours a day. With 109 cultivators and 19 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 and mobile phone coverage. It had no bank branch or ATM in the 2011 record; the nearest bank was within five kilometres. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 15 hours a day.

Getting there

Bhekhowali is reached by pucca roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Batala, about 11 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was more than ten kilometres away. Kalanaur, the tehsil headquarters, and Gurdaspur town, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Mandahar and Mughal.

What is the population of Bhekhowali?

The population of Bhekhowali was 753 at the 2011 census, living in 156 households in Kalanaur tehsil of Gurdaspur district.

What facilities does Bhekhowali have?

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