Ponaਪੋਨਾ

Where is Pona?

Pona is a village of Jagraon tehsil in Ludhiana district, Punjab, in the Malwa region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Jagraon, about 10 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Sidhwan Bet community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 033793, and it covers 518 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 1,555 people in Pona: 807 men and 748 women, living in 288 households, an average of about 5.4 people per household. Spread over its 518 hectares, the population density works out to about 300 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 927 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 160, about 10 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 614 people, about 39 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 80.79 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 83.96 per cent and women at 77.38 per cent. The census recorded 598 workers, about 38 per cent of the village. Of the 577 main workers, the largest group, 266, were other workers in trade, transport and services, ahead of 230 cultivators on their own land and 71 agricultural labourers. A further 21 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Pona's land. Of the village's 518 hectares, 478 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (51 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (427 hectares). About 40 hectares were under non-agricultural uses such as the village settlement, roads and ponds. Farm power supply was recorded at 6 hours a day. With 232 cultivators and 84 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 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. The village had a sub post office. It also had a PDS ration shop and 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

Pona is reached by pucca, all-weather roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Jagraon, about 10 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was five to ten kilometres away. Jagraon, the tehsil headquarters, and Ludhiana city, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Sidhwan Kalan, Malak, Sidhwan Khurd and Bodalwala.

What is the population of Pona?

The population of Pona was 1,555 at the 2011 census, living in 288 households in Jagraon tehsil of Ludhiana district.

What facilities does Pona have?

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