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| Native name | वास्को/Vasko |
|---|---|
| Other name | Vasco da Gama |
| Type | town |
| Locator position | left |
| State name | Goa |
| District | South Goa |
| Area magnitude | 1 |
| Area telephone | 91-832 |
| Postal code | 403802 |
| Vehicle code range | GA-02/GA-06 |
Vasco da Gama ( Vasko, pronounced ; often shortened to Vasco) is the largest city in the state of Goa on the west coast of India. It is named after the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. Vasco has Goa's largest population, estimated at over 100,000. It is also the headquarters of the Mormugao taluka. The town lies on the western tip of the Mormugao peninsula, at the mouth of the Zuari River, about from Panaji (Panjim), Goa's capital, and about from the Dabolim Airport (GOI).
The place was founded in 1543, and remained in Portuguese hands until 1961, when Goa was annexed to India. The Indian Navy's Goa Naval Area (base) is located at Vasco from which it controls Dabolim airport and, in effect, the entire tourism-dependent state of Goa.
There have been aborted attempts in the past to change the name of the city to Sambhajinagar.
Vasco is heavily reliant on the port for most of its economic activity. Manganese ore mined in interior regions is brought to Marmugoa 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 state-of-the-art 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 numerous 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.
Apart from the nearby beaches, the city of Vasco is bereft of any major tourist attractions, the salient monument being the 400-year old St. Andrews Church located at the entrance of the city. However the Naval Aviation Museum nearby the city center is a popular tourist spot and is the only such museum 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 hails from Vasco. The town is also home to several English bands from Goa, namely Lynx, Heaven's Touch, and Kollectiv Soul.
Vasco is also famous for the annual Shri Damodar Bhajani Saptah fair held in Shravan month of Hindu lunar calender preceding the festival of Raksha Bandhan.
Like all towns and cities in Goa, Vasco also celebrates the Shigmo and Carnival annually with a street parade where floats from all over Goa participate.
Although cricket is not as popular as football, a Vasco resident Shadab Jakati plays for Goa in the Ranji Trophy first-class competition and has also been selected to play for the Chennai Super Kings IPL franchise.
Vasco elects its representative to the Goa Legislative Assembly, the current MLA is Jose Philip D'Souza of the Nationalist Congress Party.
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
