Dalamਦਲਮ

Where is Dalam?

Dalam is a village in Batala tehsil of Gurdaspur district in Punjab, India. It lies in the Majha region, and the 2011 directory recorded Batala, about 12 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Dera Baba Nanak community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 028861, and it covers 137 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 1,419 people in Dalam: 748 men and 671 women, living in 259 households, an average of about 5.5 people per household. Spread over its 137 hectares, the population density works out to about 1,036 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 897 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 197, about 14 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 562 people, about 40 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 74.63 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 80.65 per cent and women at 67.88 per cent. The census recorded 464 workers, about 33 per cent of the village. Of the 254 main workers, the largest group, 137, were other workers in trade, transport and services, ahead of 62 agricultural labourers and 54 cultivators on their own land. A further 210 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Dalam's land. Of the village's 137 hectares, 123 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (10 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (113 hectares). About 14 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 55 cultivators and 244 agricultural labourers, so farming supports many labouring families as well as landholders.

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.

No health facility was recorded inside the village in 2011. The village had its own post office. It also had a PDS ration shop, mobile phone coverage and an internet common service centre. 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 12 hours a day.

Getting there

Dalam is reached by pucca, all-weather roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Batala, about 12 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 Nangal, Kotli Uplan, Sarwali and Ror Khaira.

What is the population of Dalam?

The population of Dalam was 1,419 at the 2011 census, living in 259 households in Batala tehsil of Gurdaspur district.

What facilities does Dalam have?

According to the Census 2011 Village Directory, Dalam 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.