Raichakਰੈਚਕ

Where is Raichak?

Raichak is a village in Dera Baba Nanak tehsil of Gurdaspur district in Punjab, India. It lies in the Majha region, and the 2011 directory recorded Batala, about 15 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 028879, and it covers 332 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 1,824 people in Raichak: 949 men and 875 women, living in 348 households, an average of about 5.2 people per household. Spread over its 332 hectares, the population density works out to about 549 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 922 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 195, about 11 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 103 people, about 6 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 75.38 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 79.91 per cent and women at 70.5 per cent. The census recorded 587 workers, about 32 per cent of the village. Of the 540 main workers, the largest group, 309, were other workers in trade, transport and services, ahead of 192 cultivators on their own land and 21 household industry workers. A further 47 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Raichak's land. Of the village's 332 hectares, 298 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (34 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (264 hectares). About 25 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 200 cultivators and 21 agricultural labourers in the census, most farm work in the village is done by landholding families themselves.

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 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 human health facility was recorded inside the village in 2011; a veterinary hospital served its livestock. Drinking water came from untreated tap water supplies. It also had mobile phone coverage and an internet common service centre. It had no bank branch or ATM in the 2011 record; the nearest bank was within five kilometres. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 18 hours a day.

Getting there

Raichak is reached by pucca, all-weather roads; the nearest bus service was within five kilometres. The directory recorded Batala, about 15 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was more than ten kilometres away. Dera Baba Nanak, the tehsil headquarters, and Gurdaspur town, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Kohali, Chainewal, Dhesian and Maman.

What is the population of Raichak?

The population of Raichak was 1,824 at the 2011 census, living in 348 households in Dera Baba Nanak tehsil of Gurdaspur district.

What facilities does Raichak have?

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