and 135 villages had mobile phone coverage. 171 villages had pucca (paved) village roads, 27 villages had bus service (public/ private), 30 villages had autos/ modified autos, and 102 villages had tractors. 17 villages had bank branches, 4 villages had agricultural credit societies, no village had cinema/ video halls, no village had public library and public reading room. 72 villages had public distribution system, 16 villages had weekly haat (market) and 81 villages had assembly polling stations. Agriculture Hills occupy a large portion of Giridih district. The soil is generally rocky and sandy and that helps jungles and bushes to grow. The forest area, forming a large portion of total area, in the district is evenly distributed all over. Some areas near the rivers have alluvial soil. In Birni CD block, the percentage of cultivable area to total area is 22.96%. The percentage of cultivable area to the total area for the district, as a whole, is 27.04%. Irrigation is inadequate. The percentage of irrigated area to cultivable area in Birni CD block is 11.01%. May to October is the Kharif season, followed by the Rabi season. Rice, sown in 50% of the gross sown area, is the main crop in the district. Other important crops grown are: maize, wheat, sugar cane, pulses and vegetables. Mica mining Mica is mined in Birni CD block. Backward Regions Grant Fund Giridih district is listed as a backward region and receives financial support from the Backward Regions Grant Fund. The fund created by the Government of India is designed to redress regional imbalances in development. As of 2012, 272 districts across the country were listed under this scheme. The list includes 21 districts of Jharkhand. Transport Birni is on Suriya-Rajdhanwar Road. Education Birni CD block had 24 villages with pre-primary schools, 156 villages with primary schools, 85 villages with middle schools, 13 villages with secondary schools, 9 villages with senior secondary schools, 15 villages with no educational facility. .*Senior secondary schools are also known as Inter colleges in Jharkhand Healthcare Birni CD block had 1 village with community health centre, 1 village with primary health centre, 14 villages with primary health subcentres, 3 villages with maternity and child welfare centres, 3 villages with allopathic hospitals, 9 villages with dispensaries, 2 villages with veterinary hospitals, 1 village with family welfare centre, 16 villages with medicine shops. .*Private medical practitioners, alternative medicine etc. not included