Gharkaਘਰਕਾ

Where is Gharka?

Gharka is a village in Tarn Taran tehsil of Tarn Taran district in Punjab, India. It lies in the Majha region, and the 2011 directory recorded Patti, about 12 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Chohla Sahib community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 037993, and it covers 1,656 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 4,919 people in Gharka: 2,639 men and 2,280 women, living in 913 households, an average of about 5.4 people per household. Spread over its 1,656 hectares, the population density works out to about 297 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 864 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 639, about 13 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 993 people, about 20 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 67.45 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 72.3 per cent and women at 61.9 per cent. The census recorded 1,485 workers, about 30 per cent of the village. Of the 1,456 main workers, the largest group, 852, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 358 agricultural labourers and 208 other workers in trade, transport and services. A further 29 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Gharka's land. Of the village's 1,656 hectares, 1,620 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (474 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (1,146 hectares). About 24 hectares were under non-agricultural uses such as the village settlement, roads and ponds. Farm power supply was recorded at 14 hours a day. With 862 cultivators and 361 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. It also had 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 14 hours a day.

Getting there

Gharka is reached by pucca, all-weather roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Patti, about 12 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was more than ten kilometres away. Tarn Taran, the tehsil headquarters, and Tarn Taran town, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Pakhopura, Ratoke, Raniwala and Dhun.

What is the population of Gharka?

The population of Gharka was 4,919 at the 2011 census, living in 913 households in Tarn Taran tehsil of Tarn Taran district.

What facilities does Gharka have?

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