Ponda, Goa

Ponda Antruz, Pondá Fonda
city
Ponda Ponda
Coordinates: 15.40°N 74.02°E / 15.40; 74.02
Country	India
State	Goa
District	South Goa
Elevation	42 m (138 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	22,664
Languages
• Official	Konkani
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registration	GA 05

Ponda (pronounced /fɔɳɖɛ̃ː/) , Portuguese: Pondá), also known as Fonda, is a city and a municipal council in the South Goa district of Goa, India. Located in the central area of Goa, Ponda lies 28 km (17 miles) southeast of Panaji, the capital of Goa and 17 km (10.6 miles) northeast of Margao, the district capital. Ponda is also known as "Antruz Mahal" because of the presence of numerous famous temples and rich cultural heritage. The industrial center of the state, Ponda is home to many large factories and industrial estates, and is Goa's fastest-growing city.

History

Ponda formed part of the Novas Conquistas (New Conquests) of Portuguese India. It was ruled by the Sonde Rajas under the Vijayanagara Empire and the Bijapur Sultanate. In the 16th century, due to the absence of the Portuguese, Ponda was a safe haven for Hindus fleeing persecution by Jesuits and the Portuguese. In 1675, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj seized Ponda from the Bijapur Sultanate. It remained part of the Maratha Empire until 1764. Under Shivaji, Saundekar Raja was the vassal of Ponda.

The forests of Ponda were ideal places for Hindus to form makeshift temples with the idols they had salvaged from the broken temples of Sashti. These makeshift temples were slowly renovated as the Hindus gained prosperity. Now, most of the major Hindu temples in Goa are found in Ponda. In June 1756 Luís Mascarenhas, Count of Alva(Conde de Alva), the Portuguese Viceroy was killed in action by Maratha Army in Goa. The Portuguese eventually took over the area in 1791 from the Raja of Sonda, along with Quepem, Canacona and Sanguem. It began as an administrative center with the establishment of administrative offices and court, and soon became a commercial center. Most of the area known as Ponda today was a part of Kavale village. Ponda continued to have a Hindu majority even during Portuguese rule. Ponda was known as Antruz Mahal during Portuguese rule.

Geography

Ponda is located at 15.40°N 74.02°E / 15.40; 74.02. It has an average elevation of 42 metres (138 ft).

Ponda lies along the National Highway 4A, which connects Panaji to Belgaum in the neighboring state of Karnataka.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census of India, Ponda had a population of 22,664. Males constituted 51.8% of the population and females 48.2%. Ponda had an average literacy rate of 85.2%, higher than the national average of 74.0%, with male literacy at 86.7% and female literacy at 83.5%. In Ponda, 9.9% of the population was under 6 years of age. Konkani is the most widely spoken language.

Religion

Sri Hanuman Mandir, Ponda, Goa

Safa Masjid adjacent to which, on the South, is a masonry tank measuring 30 by 30 meters with Mihrab designs.

There are many Hindu temples in and around Ponda. The Gram Daivat (root deity) of Ponda is Shri Kapleshwar, whose temple is in Kapileshwari, Kavlem. The famous Temples of Shri Manguesh (Shiva), Shri Nagesh, Shri Ganapati, Shri Ramnath and the Goddesses Shri Shantadurga, Shri Mahalasa, Shri Mahalaxmi are all located nearby.

The historic Safa Masjid is a mosque built in 1560 by the Bijapuri ruler Ibrahim Adil Shah I about 2 km from center of Ponda. It is one of two sixteenth century Islamic monuments in Goa that survived the Portuguese Inquisition.

Jainism

The village Bandivade in Ponda was established by King Sripala. He also built a Jain temple of Neminatha in Ponda.

Educational institutions

Goa Engineering College (GEC), National Institute of Technology Goa (NIT Goa), Indian Institute of Technology Goa (IIT Goa) and Ponda Education Society's Rajaram & Tarabai Bandekar College of Pharmacy are located at Farmagudi, 3 km from Ponda. The National Institute of Construction Management and Research (NICMAR) is located in Ponda. Kamakshi Higher Secondary School and Kendriya Vidyalaya Ponda are located at Curti, Ponda. St. Mary's High School, S.S. Samiti's I.V.B.D. High School, M.I.B.K. High School, A.J.D.E Almeida High School, GVM's Dr. Dada Vaidya College of Education, S.S. Samiti's Higher Secondary School of Sciences, G.V.M.'s College of Arts and Science, P.E.S. Shri Ravi Sitaram College of Arts & Science and Dada Vaidya High School Curti are some of the other schools and colleges located in Ponda.

Places of interest

Ponda is the gateway to Goa's wildlife sanctuaries, both the Bondla and the Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary, and also to the Dudhsagar falls. The nearby Butterfly Conservatory of Goa attracts nature enthusiasts. It is at Pisgal, Priol, and very close to the Tropical Spice Plantation.

Local sightseeing

• Nearby cities: Margao, Vasco da Gama, Panaji
• Nearby beaches: Colva, Benaulim, Majorda, Betalbatim, Betul, Canaguinim, Agonda, Palolem, Rajbhag, Polem
• Borim broken bridge
• Shree Kamakshi Devi temple, Shiroda
• Shri Sai Baba temple, Borim
• Sri Gomantak Tirupati Balaji Padmavati Temple, Kundaim
• Farmagudi Fort (Also known as Ponda Fort)

Transport

Ponda is connected by road to the capital of Goa Panaji, to the main railway junction of Margao and to the International Airport at Dabolim. Regularly-scheduled bus services to Panaji, Margao and Vasco (near Dabolim) depart from the Kadamba Transport Corporation bus stand on the outskirts of the town. Buses to nearby villages and towns, as well as interstate buses, also depart from the same bus stand. There are buses regularly between Ponda and Dharwad, Hubballi and Belagavi run by the Kadamba Transport Corporation and the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation. The National Highway 566 connects Ponda to Vasco via Verna. The National Highway 4A connects to Belgaum/Hubli and Panaji.

External links

• National Institute of Construction Management and Research