Sheikhਸ਼ੇਖ

Where is Sheikh?

Sheikh is a village of Tarn Taran tehsil in Tarn Taran district, Punjab, in the Majha region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Patti, about 14 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Tarn Taran community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 038031, and it covers 246 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 858 people in Sheikh: 441 men and 417 women, living in 153 households, an average of about 5.6 people per household. Spread over its 246 hectares, the population density works out to about 349 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 946 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 95, about 11 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 200 people, about 23 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 73.13 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 81.07 per cent and women at 64.78 per cent. The census recorded 273 workers, about 32 per cent of the village. Of the 192 main workers, the largest group, 129, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 50 other workers in trade, transport and services and 7 agricultural labourers. A further 81 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Sheikh's land. Of the village's 246 hectares, 213 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from wells and tube-wells (213 hectares). About 33 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 131 cultivators and 66 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.

No health facility was recorded inside the village in 2011. The village had its own post office. It also had 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

Sheikh 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 14 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 Nurpur, Bhure, Miani and Sarai Diwana.

What is the population of Sheikh?

The population of Sheikh was 858 at the 2011 census, living in 153 households in Tarn Taran tehsil of Tarn Taran district.

What facilities does Sheikh have?

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