Ponda ''

taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

'' is a subdivision of the district of

north Goa North Goa district is one of the two districts that constitutes the state of Goa, India. The district has an area of , and is bounded by Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra state to the north and by Belgavi district of Karnatak ...

, in the Indian state of

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

. Its administrative headquarters is the township of Ponda.

Location

Located in central Goa, it hosts many educational institutes and manufacturing industries. The

Belgaum Belgaum (Kannada ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma'', ), officially known as Belagavi (also Belgaon), is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located near its northern western border in the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters ...

Panjim Panaji (; , , )also known as Panjim, is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river est ...

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

passes through this taluka. Ponda lies in the

North Goa North Goa district is one of the two districts that constitutes the state of Goa, India. The district has an area of , and is bounded by Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra state to the north and by Belgavi district of Karnatak ...

district. Ponda taluka is known as the home for many prominent temples in Goa. The name of the ''taluka'' (sub-district) is the same as the main town or city, which is also Ponda.

''Antruz Mahal''

Ponda taluka has also been known as ''Antruz Mahal'', which the official NIC site says is "because of the concentration of culture, music, drama and poetry also houses the temples of Lord Mangesh (Shiva), Lord Nagesh, Lord Ganapati, Lord Ramnath and the Goddesses Mhalasa and Shantdurga" It has been called the "Hindu heart of Goa".

Temples, a mosque

Ponda taluka is famous for five important temples (including Shri Mangues and Shri Mahalsa, lying between Mardol and Priol villages) situated around the town of Ponda and within the taluka, the largest mosque in Goa. Ponda is an important transport hub.

Capital

The capital of this ''subdistrict'' of Ponda, also called Ponda (town or city), lies 28 km south east of the state-capital

Panaji Panaji (; , , )also known as Panjim, is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river est ...

. It is some 17 km north-east of

Margao Margao (, ) is the commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It stands on the banks of the river Sal. It is the district headquarters of South Goa, and administrative headquarters of Salcete sub-district. It is Goa's second largest ci ...

History

In 1791, Ponda was taken over by the Portuguese, then ruling Goa, from the Raja of Sonda. It was annexed to what was then Goa along with the sub-districts of Quepem, Canacona and Sanguem. Its main town was built up during Portuguese rule, first as an administrative and court centre, and later a commercial centre.

Part of Kavle

Ponda town was earlier part of Kavle village. Lying along the

inland highway the avoids the Mandovi river, it is also a link between Goa and neighbouring

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

state, via the Ponda-

highway (NH4A).

Ponda today

Goa College of Engineering Goa Engineering College or Goa College of Engineering (abbreviated and colloquially referred to as GEC) is a public college in Goa, India, offering courses in engineering disciplines and affiliated to Goa University. Founded in 1967 and situated ...

is located in Farmaguddi village, in Ponda ''taluka'', on the outskirts of Ponda town. Ponda taluka serves as the gateway to Goa's wildlife sanctuaries -- Bondla and the Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary.

Demographics

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, Ponda had a population of 165,830 with sex ratio of 940 females to 1000 males. Ponda Taluka has an average literacy rate of 89.21%, higher than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 93.56% and female literacy is 84.58%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 1.16% and 16.64% of the population respectively. 62.50% of the population lives in urban areas.

Languages

Konkani and Marathi are among the most spoken languages in Ponda Taluka. At the time of 2011 Census of India, 69.05% of the population of Ponda Taluka spoke

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

, 10.66%

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

, 8.43%

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, 3.52%

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

, 2.32%

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and 1.15%

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

as their first language.

Religion

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

is followed by the majority of population of Ponda Taluka.

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

and

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

form significant minorities. At the time of the 2011 Census of India 83.64% of the population of the Taluka followed Hinduism, 8.45% Christianity, 7.56% Islam and 0.35% of the population followed other religions or did not state religion.

List of towns, including census towns, in Ponda ''taluka''

* Bandora (Census Town) * Borim (Census Town) * Candola (Census Town) * Curti (Census Town) * Marcaim (Census Town) * Orgao (Census Town) * Ponda (Municipal Council) * Priol (Census Town) * Quela (Census Town) * Usgao (Census Town)

List of villages in Ponda ''taluka''

* Adcolna * Betora (Bethora) * Betqui (Betki) * Boma * Candepar(Khandepar) * Codar *

Conxem Conxem is a village in Ponda taluka (sub-district) of Goa, India. Area, population India census, Conxem in Ponda taluka has an area of 188.19 hectares, a total of just 39 households, a population of 186 (comprising 94 males and 92 females) w ...

* Cuncoliem * Cundaim (Kundaim) * Durbhat * Gangem * Nirancal * Ponchavadi (Panchvadi) * Querim (Keri) * Savoi-Verem * Siroda (Shiroda) * Telaulim (Talaulim) * Tivrem * Vadi * Vagurbem * Velinga (Veling) * Volvoi

References

External links

Cities and villages in Ponda Taluk
Taluks of Goa Geography of North Goa district {{goa-geo-stub