Gajjalਗੱਜਲ

Where is Gajjal?

Gajjal is a village in Patti tehsil of Tarn Taran district in Punjab, India. It lies in the Majha region, and the 2011 directory recorded Khem Karan, about 14 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Valtoha community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 038131, and it covers 1,102 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 1,358 people in Gajjal: 708 men and 650 women, living in 223 households, an average of about 6.1 people per household. Spread over its 1,102 hectares, the population density works out to about 123 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 918 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 184, about 14 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 381 people, about 28 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 60.22 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 64.99 per cent and women at 54.94 per cent. The census recorded 821 workers, about 60 per cent of the village. Of the 676 main workers, the largest group, 410, were other workers in trade, transport and services, ahead of 158 cultivators on their own land and 97 agricultural labourers. A further 145 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Gajjal's land. Of the village's 1,102 hectares, 937 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (176 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (761 hectares). About 124 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 162 cultivators and 123 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. Drinking water came from untreated tap water supplies. 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

Gajjal is reached by pucca roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Khem Karan, about 14 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was within five kilometres. Patti, the tehsil headquarters, and Tarn Taran town, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Kotli Wasawa Singh, Jodh Singhwala, Sarai Valtoha and Bahadhar Nagar.

What is the population of Gajjal?

The population of Gajjal was 1,358 at the 2011 census, living in 223 households in Patti tehsil of Tarn Taran district.

What facilities does Gajjal have?

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