Khairaਖੈਰਾ

Where is Khaira?

Khaira is a village of Batala tehsil in Gurdaspur district, Punjab, in the Majha region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Fatehgarh Churian, about 10 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Fatehgarh Churian community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 028812, and it covers 444 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 2,244 people in Khaira: 1,200 men and 1,044 women, living in 423 households, an average of about 5.3 people per household. Spread over its 444 hectares, the population density works out to about 505 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 870 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 265, about 12 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 800 people, about 36 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 78.27 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 84.06 per cent and women at 71.6 per cent. The census recorded 781 workers, about 35 per cent of the village. Of the 772 main workers, the largest group, 327, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 251 other workers in trade, transport and services and 168 agricultural labourers. A further 9 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Khaira's land. Of the village's 444 hectares, 390 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (182 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (208 hectares). About 50 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 328 cultivators and 169 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 2 government primary schools, 2 government middle schools, 3 government secondary schools 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 human health facility was recorded inside the village in 2011; a veterinary hospital served its livestock. The village had a sub post office. It also had mobile phone coverage. It had no bank branch or ATM in the 2011 record; the nearest bank was five to ten kilometres away. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 12 hours a day.

Getting there

Khaira is reached by village roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Fatehgarh Churian, about 10 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was five to ten kilometres away. Batala, the tehsil headquarters, and Gurdaspur town, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel.

What is the population of Khaira?

The population of Khaira was 2,244 at the 2011 census, living in 423 households in Batala tehsil of Gurdaspur district.

What facilities does Khaira have?

According to the Census 2011 Village Directory, Khaira 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.