Shah Shamasਸ਼ਾਹ ਸ਼ਮਸ

Where is Shah Shamas?

Shah Shamas 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 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 028882, and it covers 193 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 628 people in Shah Shamas: 314 men and 314 women, living in 128 households, an average of about 4.9 people per household. Spread over its 193 hectares, the population density works out to about 325 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 1000 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 73, about 12 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 55 people, about 9 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 75.86 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 76.95 per cent and women at 74.83 per cent. The census recorded 157 workers, about 25 per cent of the village. Of the 152 main workers, the largest group, 83, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 47 other workers in trade, transport and services and 22 agricultural labourers. A further 5 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Shah Shamas's land. Of the village's 193 hectares, 179 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (11 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (168 hectares). About 14 hectares were under non-agricultural uses such as the village settlement, roads and ponds. Farm power supply was recorded at 16 hours a day. With 84 cultivators and 23 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 middle school, so children can study in the village up to Class 8. 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. 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 16 hours a day.

Getting there

Shah Shamas 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 village has its own railway station. Dera Baba Nanak, the tehsil headquarters, and Gurdaspur town, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Maman, Basant Kot, Chainewal and Dhianpur.

What is the population of Shah Shamas?

The population of Shah Shamas was 628 at the 2011 census, living in 128 households in Dera Baba Nanak tehsil of Gurdaspur district.

What facilities does Shah Shamas have?

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