ਸੋਹਲਸੋਹਲ

Where is Sohal?

Sohal is a village of Gurdaspur tehsil in Gurdaspur district, Punjab, in the Majha region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Dhariwal, about 3 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Dhariwal community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 028253, and it covers 680 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 6,765 people in Sohal: 3,442 men and 3,323 women, living in 1,282 households, an average of about 5.3 people per household. Spread over its 680 hectares, the population density works out to about 995 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 965 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 764, about 11 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 1,969 people, about 29 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 79.5 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 84.17 per cent and women at 74.71 per cent. The census recorded 2,003 workers, about 30 per cent of the village. Of the 1,747 main workers, the largest group, 1,270, were other workers in trade, transport and services, ahead of 272 cultivators on their own land and 167 agricultural labourers. A further 256 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Sohal's land. Of the village's 680 hectares, 564 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and 550 hectares of it were irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from wells and tube-wells (550 hectares). About 116 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 289 cultivators and 191 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, 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 dispensary and a veterinary hospital. Drinking water came from untreated tap water supplies. The village had its own post office. 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 within five kilometres. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 12 hours a day.

Getting there

Sohal is reached by pucca, all-weather roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Dhariwal, about 3 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the village has its own railway station. Gurdaspur, the tehsil headquarters, and Gurdaspur town, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Pirdi Sain, Mahan Dev Khurd, Rania and Dhariwal.

What is the population of Sohal?

The population of Sohal was 6,765 at the 2011 census, living in 1,282 households in Gurdaspur tehsil of Gurdaspur district.

What facilities does Sohal have?

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