ਬੁੱਟਰਬੁੱਟਰ

A highway village in two halves

Buttar, generally known as Buttar Kalan, is a large village in Moga tehsil of ਮੋਗਾ district, Punjab, in the Malwa region, standing on the Moga to Barnala highway, State Highway 703, about 17 kilometres from Moga city. The 2011 census counted 10,519 people in 2,055 households across its 2,770 hectares, and the record carries village code 033994. The village is built of two historic halves named for its two main Jatt clans: Dhillon Buttar and Bhullar Buttar. The split is formal, not just a nickname: the village elects two sarpanches, one for the Dhillon patti and one for the Bhullar patti. Its growth has been slow beside Punjab's towns: 10,053 people at the 2001 census became 10,519 in 2011. For politics the village votes in the Nihal Singh Wala assembly constituency and the Faridkot Lok Sabha constituency.

Gurdwaras, a dera and the Baisakhi fair

Buttar is mainly a Sikh village, with Hindu families and a few Muslim families established in it. Its gurdwaras include Gurdwara Baba Kehar Singh Ji and Gurdwara Kutia Sahib, serving the two pattis, and the village also has Hindu temples and a mosque. Towards Ramuwala Harchoke, near the watercourse called the sua, stands the Ashram of Kalianwala, a dera of the kind where a spiritual seeker lives and teaches. The high point of the village year is Baisakhi: the harvest festival is celebrated every April with a fair that runs for three days.

People and work

The 2011 census counted 5,564 men and 4,955 women in Buttar, a sex ratio of 891 women for every 1,000 men, living in 2,055 households at about 5.1 people to a household, a density of about 380 people per square kilometre. Children up to the age of six numbered 1,179, about 11 percent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 5,210 people, about half the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded. Literacy stood at 70.19 percent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 74.63 percent and women at 65.32 percent.

The census recorded 3,226 workers, about 31 percent of the village. Of the 2,992 main workers, the largest group, 1,171, were other workers in trade, transport and services, ahead of 891 cultivators on their own land and 853 agricultural labourers, with a small number in household industry. A further 234 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year. Counting main and marginal workers together, 910 people cultivated land and 925 worked as agricultural labourers, so the fields support slightly more labouring families than landholding ones. Like many large Malwa villages, Buttar also looks far beyond Punjab: a large share of its people now live abroad, in Canada, the United States and Australia.

Land and farming

Farming covers the heart of Buttar's land. Of the village's 2,770 hectares, 1,664 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated: the directory attributes 322 hectares to canals and 554 hectares to wells and tube wells. An unusually large share of the village, 1,106 hectares, sat under non-agricultural uses such as the settlement, roads and ponds, the mark of a big built-up village on a state highway. Farm power supply was recorded at 8 hours a day.

Schools, health and everyday services

Education runs deep in Buttar. The government network recorded in 2011 ran to 3 primary schools, 2 middle schools, 2 secondary schools and 2 senior secondary schools, so children can study in the village up to Class 12. Two government high schools in the village date to the British era, separate schools for boys and girls, and in their early years they drew students from all the villages around, when they were the only source of secondary education in the area. The village also has an anganwadi centre and an ASHA health worker.

On health, the 2011 Village Directory recorded a community health centre, a primary health centre, an allopathic hospital and a dispensary inside Buttar, together with a veterinary hospital for its livestock: the strongest set of public health facilities a village of this size can have, and one many small towns do not match. No primary health sub-centre was recorded. Treated tap water was available in the village.

Buttar has its own post office and mobile phone coverage. Banking was available in the village itself, with a commercial bank branch and a cooperative bank branch, though there was no ATM in 2011. Two gaps stand out for a village of this size: there was no PDS ration shop inside the village, the nearest being more than ten kilometres away, and no internet common service centre, also more than ten kilometres away. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 10 hours a day.

Getting there

Buttar stands on State Highway 703 between Moga and Barnala and is reached by pucca, all-weather roads, and the 2011 directory recorded both public and private bus services in the village itself. Moga, about 17 kilometres away, is both the tehsil and the district headquarters and the nearest town; in 2011 the nearest railway station was more than ten kilometres away, so Moga is the practical rail head for the village. Neighbouring villages include Daudhar Garbi, Daudhar Sharki, Ramuwala Harchoke and Ramuwala Kalan.

What is the population of Buttar?

The population of Buttar was 10,519 at the 2011 census, living in 2,055 households in Moga tehsil of Moga district, Punjab.

Why does Buttar have two sarpanches?

Buttar is one census village built of two historic halves, Dhillon Buttar and Bhullar Buttar, named for its two main Jatt clans, and each half elects its own sarpanch.

What health facilities does Buttar have?

The Census 2011 Village Directory recorded a community health centre, a primary health centre, an allopathic hospital, a dispensary and a veterinary hospital inside Buttar.