Bijliwalਬਿਜਲਿਵਲ

Where is Bijliwal?

Bijliwal is a village of Batala tehsil in Gurdaspur district, Punjab, in the Majha region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Batala, about 8 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Batala community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 028768, and it covers 269 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 1,685 people in Bijliwal: 896 men and 789 women, living in 334 households, an average of about 5.0 people per household. Spread over its 269 hectares, the population density works out to about 626 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 881 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 208, about 12 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 1,006 people, about 60 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 74.2 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 79.67 per cent and women at 68.14 per cent. The census recorded 530 workers, about 31 per cent of the village. Of the 505 main workers, the largest group, 266, were agricultural labourers, ahead of 151 other workers in trade, transport and services and 75 cultivators on their own land. A further 25 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Bijliwal's land. Of the village's 269 hectares, 247 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (68 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (179 hectares). About 22 hectares were under non-agricultural uses such as the village settlement, roads and ponds. Farm power supply was recorded at 8 hours a day. The census recorded 75 cultivators and 276 agricultural labourers, so farming supports many labouring families as well as landholders.

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 and an ASHA health worker.

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 more than ten kilometres away. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 18 hours a day.

Getting there

Bijliwal is reached by pucca roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Batala, about 8 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was more than ten kilometres away. Batala, the tehsil headquarters, and Gurdaspur town, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Chandke, Mirzajan, Khanfatta and Kot Majlas.

What is the population of Bijliwal?

The population of Bijliwal was 1,685 at the 2011 census, living in 334 households in Batala tehsil of Gurdaspur district.

What facilities does Bijliwal have?

According to the Census 2011 Village Directory, Bijliwal 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.