Kahmaਕਹਮਾ

Where is Kahma?

Kahma is a village in Nawanshahr tehsil of SBS Nagar district in Punjab, India. It lies in the Doaba region, and the 2011 directory recorded Banga, about 5 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Banga community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 032097, and it covers 369 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 3,320 people in Kahma: 1,690 men and 1,630 women, living in 700 households, an average of about 4.7 people per household. Spread over its 369 hectares, the population density works out to about 900 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 964 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 321, about 10 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 1,513 people, about 46 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 80.83 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 86.15 per cent and women at 75.39 per cent. The census recorded 1,009 workers, about 30 per cent of the village. Of the 952 main workers, the largest group, 506, were other workers in trade, transport and services, ahead of 288 agricultural labourers and 147 cultivators on their own land. A further 57 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Kahma's land. Of the village's 369 hectares, 354 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from wells and tube-wells (354 hectares). About 15 hectares were under non-agricultural uses such as the village settlement, roads and ponds. Farm power supply was recorded at 6 hours a day. The census recorded 148 cultivators and 313 agricultural labourers, so farming supports many labouring families as well as landholders.

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, 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 community health centre, a primary health centre, a primary health sub-centre, an allopathic hospital, a dispensary and a veterinary hospital. Treated tap water was available in the village. The village had its own post office. It also had mobile phone coverage. Banking was available in the village itself, with a commercial bank branch and a cooperative bank branch. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 12 hours a day.

Getting there

Kahma is reached by pucca, all-weather roads; the nearest bus service was five to ten kilometres away. The directory recorded Banga, about 5 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the village has its own railway station. Nawanshahr, the tehsil headquarters, and Nawanshahr, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Bains, Mangowal, Palli Uchi and Bhin.

What is the population of Kahma?

The population of Kahma was 3,320 at the 2011 census, living in 700 households in Nawanshahr tehsil of SBS Nagar district.

What facilities does Kahma have?

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