Birkਬਿਰਕ

Where is Birk?

Birk is a village of Phillaur tehsil in Jalandhar district, Punjab, in the Doaba region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Goraya, about 5 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Phillaur community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 030203, and it covers 670 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 5,264 people in Birk: 2,725 men and 2,539 women, living in 1,152 households, an average of about 4.6 people per household. Spread over its 670 hectares, the population density works out to about 785 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 932 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 552, about 10 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 2,684 people, about 51 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 80.81 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 84.35 per cent and women at 77.06 per cent. The census recorded 1,812 workers, about 34 per cent of the village. Of the 1,442 main workers, the largest group, 1,164, were other workers in trade, transport and services, ahead of 219 cultivators on their own land and 45 household industry workers. A further 370 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Birk's land. Of the village's 670 hectares, 596 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (19 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (577 hectares). About 74 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 223 cultivators and 45 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 one government primary school, one government middle school, one government secondary 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.

Health facilities recorded inside the village in 2011 included a dispensary and a veterinary hospital. Drinking water came from untreated tap water supplies. The village had a sub post office. It also had a PDS ration shop and mobile phone coverage. Banking was available in the village itself, with a commercial bank branch, a cooperative bank branch and an ATM. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 12 hours a day.

Getting there

Birk is reached by pucca, all-weather roads; the nearest bus service was five to ten kilometres away. The directory recorded Goraya, about 5 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was five to ten kilometres away. Phillaur, the tehsil headquarters, and Jalandhar town, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Paddi Khalsa, Takhar, Chachrari and Sargundi.

What is the population of Birk?

The population of Birk was 5,264 at the 2011 census, living in 1,152 households in Phillaur tehsil of Jalandhar district.

What facilities does Birk have?

According to the Census 2011 Village Directory, Birk has government schools from primary to senior secondary school level, an anganwadi centre and a sub post office.