Balairਬਲੈਰ

Where is Balair?

Balair is a village in Patti tehsil of Tarn Taran district in Punjab, India. It lies in the Majha region, and the 2011 directory recorded Patti, about 16 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Bhikhiwind community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 038070, and it covers 789 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 2,840 people in Balair: 1,491 men and 1,349 women, living in 510 households, an average of about 5.6 people per household. Spread over its 789 hectares, the population density works out to about 360 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 905 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 376, about 13 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 757 people, about 27 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 61 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 66.61 per cent and women at 54.88 per cent. The census recorded 1,237 workers, about 44 per cent of the village. Of the 939 main workers, the largest group, 403, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 359 other workers in trade, transport and services and 141 agricultural labourers. A further 298 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Balair's land. Of the village's 789 hectares, 715 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (271 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (444 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 431 cultivators and 163 agricultural labourers in the census, most farm work in the village is done by landholding families themselves.

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 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. It had no bank branch or ATM in the 2011 record; the nearest bank was within five kilometres. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 12 hours a day.

Getting there

Balair is reached by pucca, all-weather roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a public bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Patti, about 16 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was more than ten kilometres away. Patti, the tehsil headquarters, and Tarn Taran town, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Benka, Kalle, Sugga and Farandipur.

What is the population of Balair?

The population of Balair was 2,840 at the 2011 census, living in 510 households in Patti tehsil of Tarn Taran district.

What facilities does Balair have?

According to the Census 2011 Village Directory, Balair 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.