Vasco da Gama, Goa

Vasco da Gama Municipal Market in 1958

This city, in the former Portuguese territory of Goa, is named after the famous Portuguese explorer and navigator Vasco da Gama, who held the title of Governor of Portuguese India. This city serves as the headquarters of the Mormugao sub-district. It was founded in 1543 and remained in Portuguese hands until 1961, when the territory was lost to India.[4]

Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India (1497–1499) was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route, connecting the Atlantic and the Indian oceans and, in this way, the West and the East. He reached Goa on 11 September 1524 but died at Kochi three months later. His remains were eventually returned to Portugal and interred at St Jeronimos monastery.[5]

The city is sometimes referred to as Sambhaji Nagar. Sambhaji was the eldest son of Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha Empire. An attempt was made to change the city's name to Sambhaji Nagar, and this is reflected in a few government records. However, no official records have been found as to when the city was renamed. It is thus dismissed as a political move.[6][7][8]

Renovation of Clock Tower

Clock Tower at Vasco da Gama, Goa

In 2015, after a campaign by the Goa Heritage Action Group and the History Lovers Group, the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) decided to renovate the clock tower of the municipal market in the heart of the city. Built in 1938, the complex is an example of Art Deco style of architecture.[9][10] The renovation work was completed in 2017 with funding provided by the Rajaram and Tarabai Bandekar Charitable Trust, and the clock was brought in from Nashik.[11][12]

Vasco is connected by road by the National Highway 17A & National Highway 17B, by rail by the Vasco da Gama railway station,[13] by the sea through the Mormugao Port[14] and by air through Dabolim Airport, thus serving as the main hub for most tourists visiting the state of Goa.

Vasco is heavily reliant on the port for most of its economic activity. Manganese ore mined in interior regions is brought to Mormugao by barges navigating the rivers Mandovi and Zuari, and then either collected in the Mormugao Port to be loaded onto bulk carrier ships or directly loaded onto the ships using trans-shippers. Ore which is collected on the port is handled by machinery called MOHP (Mechanical Ore-Handling Plant). This includes massive bucket wheel loaders and miles of conveyor belts. The port has berthing facilities for large cruise liners as well as a floating dry dock. There are shipping and freight forwarding agents as well as offices of major mining companies based in the city.

The Mormugao Port Trust which operates the port is the largest employer in the Vasco region and has a complete mini-township in Headland Sada which includes schools, residential complexes and amenities for employees of the Port.

Beaches near Vasco da Gama (up) and Mormugão Municipal Council at Vasco da Gama, India (down).

Bogmalo Beach is 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from Vasco. This beach is quite risky as it has underwater currents. Hollant (Issorcim) and Baina are two smaller beaches around Vasco.

Apart from the nearby beaches, the city of Vasco is bereft of any major tourist attractions, the salient monument being the 400-year-old Igreja de Santo André (St. Andrew's Church), located at the entrance of the city. However the Naval Aviation Museum near the airport is a popular tourist spot and is one of three such museums in India. It profiles the evolution and history of Indian naval aviation through aircraft exhibits and rare photographs.

One of Goa's premier musical groups, Diamond Orchestra, which was established in 1976, hails from Vasco. The town is also home to several English bands from Goa, notably Lynx and Kollectiv Soul.

Vasco is known for the annual Shri Damodar Bhajani Saptah[15] fair held in Shravan month of Hindu lunar calendar preceding the festival of Nag panchami.

Vasco da Gama hosted the relics of Saint John Bosco, albeit temporarily, on 21 August 2011, at the St. Andrew's Church, while the relics were on their world tour.

Like all towns and cities in Goa, Vasco celebrates the Shigmo; and carnival annually with a street parade where floats from all over Goa participate.

As in the rest of Goa, football is the most popular sport in Vasco. Two teams from the town have participated in the I-League – Vasco Sports Club and Salgaocar Sports Club. Salgaocar SC were Champions of the 1998–99 season[16] of the erstwhile NFL. Tilak Maidan is a 6,000-seat[17] football ground based in the city. The stadium sporting a magnificent turf hosted I-league matches during April 2013, as the home ground for the four teams from Goa in the league, when Fatorda Stadium was closed down for renovation.[18]

Although cricket is not as popular as football, a Vasco resident Shadab Jakati[19] plays for Goa in the Ranji Trophy first-class competition and has also been selected to play for the Chennai Super Kings IPL franchise. Railway Stadium is a cricket ground in Vasco da Gama. The only recorded match held on the ground was a first-class match between Goa and Kerala in the 1986/87 Ranji Trophy,[20] which Kerala won by 6 wickets.[21]

The city of Vasco falls under the boundaries of the South Goa (Lok Sabha constituency) previously Mormugao Lok Sabha constituency in the Lok Sabha. The current Member of Parliament is Francisco Sardinha of the Indian National Congress.[22]

The extended city of Vasco / Mormugao elects three representatives to the Goa Legislative Assembly:[23]

• Mormugao: The current MLA is Milind Naik of the BJP.
• Vasco da Gama: The current MLA is Carlos Almeida of the BJP.
• Dabolim: The current MLA is Mauvin Godinho of the BJP.

The National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR)[24] located at Headland Sada is a research and development institution administered by the Ministry of Earth Sciences. It is responsible for administering the Indian Antarctic Program and maintains the Indian government's Antarctic research station, Maitri. In addition to laboratories for marine sample processing/analyses, it hosts a special low-temperature ice core sample storage facility. It is also the nodal agency for Indian scientific participation in the deep sea drilling research under the aegis of International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP).

• The Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani started its second campus BITS Pilani Goa Campus at Zuarinagar in Vasco da Gama. The campus offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in engineering and science.[25]
• The Navy Children School, established in 1987 under the aegis of Naval Education Society, is located in Vasco-da-Gama. It is one of eight similar institutions in India.[26]
• The city has two Kendriya Vidyalayas, established under the aegis of the Indian Navy. Both are located at Mangor Hill in the Varunapuri compound.[26]
• Mormugao Educational Society's College of Arts and Commerce, locally known as MES College, is an institution in Zuarinagar, Vasco-da-Gama which provides training in commerce and the arts.[27]
• Mormugao Port Trust also runs three schools at the Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary levels named Deepvihar.[28]
• New Dawn Ashadeep School is a special school for the physically disabled.[29]

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  Old Bus station
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  Motorcycle Taxi Stand and Municipal School
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  Martyrs Memorial (Hutatma Chowk)
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  Old Municipal Market
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  Post Office
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  St. Andrew's Church
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  Main fish and produce market
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  Railway station
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  Bat's Island seen from Baina Beach
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  Replica of the INS Viraat at the Naval Aviation Museum

• Media related to Vasco da Gama, Goa at Wikimedia Commons
• Vasco da Gama travel guide from Wikivoyage