Vasco da Gama /ˌvæskoʊ də ˈɡæmə/ (Vasku [waːskuː]), often shortened to Vasco, is a city in the state of Goa on the west coast of India. It is named after the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. 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 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Panjim, Goa's capital, and about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Dabolim Airport.
The city was founded in 1543 and remained in Portuguese hands until 1961, when Goa was annexed by India. The Indian Navy's Goa Naval Area (base) is located at Vasco, from which it controls Dabolim Airport. The historic 'Document of surrender' was signed by the Portuguese in front of Vasco's municipal council building.
Vasco is connected by road by the National Highway 17A, by rail by the Vasco da Gama railway station, by the sea through the Mormugao Harbour 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.
Tourism and culture
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 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, notably Lynx and Kollectiv Soul.
Vasco is known for the annual Shri Damodar Bhajani Saptah 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/ xigmo and Carnival annually with a street parade where floats from all over Goa participate.
Sports
Like 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 of the erstwhile NFL. Tilak Maidan is a 15,000 capacity 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
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 KingsIPL franchise.
Politics
The city of Vasco falls under the boundaries of the Mormugao (Lok Sabha constituency) in the Lok Sabha. The current Member of Parliament is Narendra Keshav Sawaikar of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Vasco elects its representative to the Goa Legislative Assembly, the current MLA is Carlos Almeida of the BJP.
Research
The National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) 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.
Education
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.
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.
Attractions At Vasco Da Gama
Indian Naval Aviation Museum
The "Japananese Garden" up the hill in a place called Sada. It is in a hill top facing the ocean. The route to the garden from the Vasco station, gives a good view of the ships in the ocean in the goan ship yards on your right hand side. It is seated in a beautiful calm place. You can sit on top and watch the ocean, or walk down to a temple at the shore. There is a side walk that takes you to the navy apartments nearby. It is not a usual tourist spot. It is very quiet and calm in the day time and the ideal time to visit would be early mornings or evenings.
Beaches:
Bogmalo is a small beautiful beach behind the airport. But the water can get very rough here. Velsao is a long fantastic beach a little far from the airport. But its absolutely lonely most of the time,
nobody is around! It is not dangerous, but can be lonely!
· Being mainly a business town, there isn't much to do for the tourist in Vasco da Gama. However the parks and nearby beaches do provide an option to spend a few hours in complete leisure.
· One new attraction is the sea walk at Baina beach.
· The Naval aircraft museum on the way to Bogmalo beach is another must see attraction.
Sports :
NRB Vasco Sports Club are a football club from Goa, India. They currently play in the I-League 2nd Division which is India's second most prominent football league.
This club has a dedicated fan following originating within Vasco and having a strong fan following and dedicated supporters from all over Goa and abroad. The Vasco Sports Club is a football (soccer) club from the port city of Vasco in South Goa, India.
A Portuguese Background.
Vasco Sports Club had its original beginnings way back in 1951 while the Portuguese were still ruling over Goa. The original founders of this football sports club in Goa was due to the efforts of humble local residents from the port town of Vasco da Gama more popularly known as Vasco in short. Football overcomes boundaries too and hence a Portuguese garrison Mr. Tenente Avila stationed in Vasco along with the local residents formed a football club called Clube de Desportos Vasco da Gama.
Interesting Vasco Sports Club was named after the famous Brazilian club, Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama formed on August 21 1898 and similar colors were adopted by it. The inspiration for present day Vasco Sports Club was the Brazilian sports club from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, founded on August 21, 1898....
During the last five decades the club participated in most of the major tournaments in India. The sixties and seventies were the most productive years for the club and they won some of the major tournaments during that time like the Kerala Trophy, Stafford Cup, Bandodkar Gold Trophy, Chakola Gold Trophy and Sait-Nagjee Trophy.
As far as honors at home go, the club won the Goa Football Association league title on six different occasions starting in 1954 until 1969 and is the Club still participating in the State's top League competition, never once having been demoted.
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