ਬਲਿਆਂਬਲਿਆਂ

Where is Balian?

Balian is a village of Sangrur tehsil in Sangrur district, Punjab, in the Malwa region of the state. The 2011 directory recorded Sangrur, about 8 kilometres away, as its nearest town. The village falls in the Sangrur community development block and has its own gram panchayat. In the census record it carries village code 039740, and it covers 1,012 hectares.

Population and households

The 2011 census counted 3,506 people in Balian: 1,871 men and 1,635 women, living in 705 households, an average of about 5.0 people per household. Spread over its 1,012 hectares, the population density works out to about 346 people per square kilometre. The sex ratio was 874 women for every 1,000 men. Children up to the age of six numbered 352, about 10 per cent of the village. Scheduled Castes made up 1,258 people, about 36 per cent of the population, and no Scheduled Tribe population was recorded.

Literacy in 2011 stood at 62.21 per cent among residents aged seven and above, with men at 66.83 per cent and women at 56.95 per cent. The census recorded 1,106 workers, about 32 per cent of the village. Of the 1,058 main workers, the largest group, 450, were cultivators on their own land, ahead of 437 other workers in trade, transport and services and 165 agricultural labourers. A further 48 people were marginal workers, employed for only part of the year.

Land and farming

Farming covers most of Balian's land. Of the village's 1,012 hectares, 894 hectares were net sown area in the 2011 record, and every sown hectare was irrigated. Irrigation came mainly from canals (382 hectares) and wells and tube-wells (512 hectares). About 102 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 457 cultivators and 179 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 primary health centre, a dispensary and a veterinary hospital. Treated tap water was available in the village. The village had a sub 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 five to ten kilometres away. Domestic electricity supply was recorded at 12 hours a day.

Getting there

Balian is reached by pucca, all-weather roads, and the 2011 directory recorded a private bus service in the village itself. The directory recorded Sangrur, about 8 kilometres away, as the nearest town, and the nearest railway station was five to ten kilometres away. Sangrur, the tehsil headquarters, and Sangrur, the district headquarters, are the practical hubs for administration and onward travel. Neighbouring villages include Rupaheri, Bhindran, Laddi and Kalodi.

What is the population of Balian?

The population of Balian was 3,506 at the 2011 census, living in 705 households in Sangrur tehsil of Sangrur district.

What facilities does Balian have?

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