Achanakਅਚਾਨਕ

Where is Achanak?

Achanak is a village of Budhlada tehsil in Mansa district, Punjab, in the Malwa region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Budhlada, about 10 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Budhlada community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 036033, and it covers 572 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 1,422 people in Achanak: 751 men and 671 women, living in 281 households, an average of about 5.1 people per household. Spread over its 572 hectares, the population density works out to about 249 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 893 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 125, about 9 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 483 people, about 34 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 63.53 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 68.58 per cent and women at 57.95 per cent. The census recorded 483 workers, about 34 per cent of the village. Of the 450 main workers, the largest group, 238, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 119 other workers in trade, transport and services and 93 agricultural labourers. A further 33 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Achanak's land. Of the village's 572 hectares, 530 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (529 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (1 hectares). About 42 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 246 cultivators and 115 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.

No health facility was recorded inside the village in 2011. Treated tap water was available in the village. 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

Achanak is reached by pucca roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Budhlada, about 10 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was five to ten kilometres away. Budhlada, the tehsil headquarters, and Mansa, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Satike, Sanghreri, Rampur Mander and Jalwehra.

What is the population of Achanak?

The population of Achanak was 1,422 at the 2011 census, living in 281 households in Budhlada tehsil of Mansa district.

What facilities does Achanak have?

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