Handaਹਂਡਾ

Where is Handa?

Handa is a village of Moonak tehsil in Sangrur district, Punjab, in the Malwa region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Moonak, about 5 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Andana community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 039933, and it covers 435 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 1,058 people in Handa: 542 men and 516 women, living in 164 households, an average of about 6.5 people per household. Spread over its 435 hectares, the population density works out to about 243 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 952 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 128, about 12 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 119 people, about 11 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 65.38 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 71.13 per cent and women at 59.29 per cent. The census recorded 302 workers, about 29 per cent of the village. Of the 288 main workers, the largest group, 200, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 71 other workers in trade, transport and services and 14 agricultural labourers. A further 14 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Handa's land. Of the village's 435 hectares, 415 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (413 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (2 hectares). Farm power supply was recorded at 6 hours a day. With 202 cultivators and 14 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. 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 more than ten kilometres away. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 12 hours a day.

Getting there

Handa is reached by pucca, all-weather roads; the nearest bus service was more than ten kilometres away. The directory recorded Moonak, about 5 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was within five kilometres. Moonak, the tehsil headquarters, and Sangrur, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Karail, Kabirpur, Bazidpur and Kudni.

What is the population of Handa?

The population of Handa was 1,058 at the 2011 census, living in 164 households in Moonak tehsil of Sangrur district.

What facilities does Handa have?

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