Chelaਚੇਲਾ

Where is Chela?

Chela is a village in Garhshankar tehsil of Hoshiarpur district in Punjab, India. It lies in the Doaba region, and the 2011 directory recorded Mahilpur, about 15 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Mahilpur community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 031788, and it covers 150 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 741 people in Chela: 355 men and 386 women, living in 161 households, an average of about 4.6 people per household. Spread over its 150 hectares, the population density works out to about 494 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 1087 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 75, about 10 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 246 people, about 33 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 86.79 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 90.65 per cent and women at 83.19 per cent. The census recorded 207 workers, about 28 per cent of the village. Of the 201 main workers, the largest group, 78, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 71 other workers in trade, transport and services and 47 agricultural labourers. A further 6 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Chela's land. Of the village's 150 hectares, 136 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from wells and tube-wells (136 hectares). About 12 hectares were under non-agricultural uses such as the village settlement, roads and ponds. Farm power supply was recorded at 12 hours a day. With 81 cultivators and 49 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, one government middle school 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 health facility was recorded inside the village in 2011. Treated tap water was available in the village. It also had mobile phone coverage. It had no bank branch or ATM in the 2011 record; the nearest bank was within five kilometres. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 12 hours a day.

Getting there

Chela is reached by pucca roads; the nearest bus service was within five kilometres. The directory recorded Mahilpur, about 15 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was more than ten kilometres away. Garhshankar, the tehsil headquarters, and Hoshiarpur city, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Data, Makhsuspur, Pandori Ganga Singh and Ispur.

What is the population of Chela?

The population of Chela was 741 at the 2011 census, living in 161 households in Garhshankar tehsil of Hoshiarpur district.

What facilities does Chela have?

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