Mapusa

Mapusa

Mapusa

Town in Goa, India

Mapusa (Goan Konkani: Mhapxem) is a town in North Goa, India. It is situated 13 km north of the capital Panaji. The town is the headquarters of Bardez Taluka. It is located on the main highway NH-17, linking Mumbai to Kochi.

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In Portuguese, the town is known as Mapuçá.

History

Mapusa is a small town clustered around the Mount (Alto). The name Mapusa is thought to be derived from the Konkani word for a 'measure' - 'map' and the phrase fill up - 'sa'. Ancient Goan agrarian community had a well established Gaunkari or Community Farming System, where villages formed associations, worked on community land and shared profits. Market day was a major event, with goods brought in from every district to one central area. Mapusa has thus remained a prominent market center for many centuries.

Geography

Mapusa is located at 15.60°N 73.82°E / 15.60; 73.82.[1] It has an average elevation of 15 metres (49 feet).It lies on the banks of Mapusa River. Mapusa has a tropical climate with temperatures ranging from a high of 37 °C in summer with high levels of humidity to a low of 21 °C in winters.

Demographics

[needs update] As of the 2011 Census of India,[2] Mapusa had a population of 40,487. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Mapusa has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 73%. In Mapusa, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Government and politics

Civic administration

Mapusa is administered by the Mapusa Municipal Council.

Representation in Parliament and State Assembly

At a state level, Mapusa falls within the Mapusa (Goa Assembly constituency). As of 2019, its representative in the Goa Legislative Assembly is Joshua D'Souza of the Bharatiya Janata Party.[needs update]

At a national level, the city is falls within the North Goa (Lok Sabha constituency). As of 2019, its Member of Parliament is Shripad Yesso Naik of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Economy

Mapusa vendor selling vegetables

Mapusa is close to one of the main centres of Goa's tourism industry. Mapusa's proximity to many beaches in the north of Goa makes it a suitable base during the tourist season (November to April). Because it is a mainly commercial town (for locals) with a large resident population, Mapusa has only a limited number of hotels and accommodation. Mapusa comes alive on Friday, the traditional market day also known as Mapusa Friday Market. People from surrounding villages and towns come to Mapusa to sell their wares. This fair has a lot of local flavour (unlike some other tourist-oriented fairs or markets) and specialises in agricultural produce, vegetables, locally grown fruit, spices, clothes and even plants (mainly during the monsoon planting season).

Every Friday, the Mapusa Market bulges at the seams, with seemingly every square inch of space occupied by sellers with only just enough room for the prospective buyers, the alleys between the regular stalls being occupied with temporary mats and boards. From lottery tickets displayed in great swathes to barber shops, the bazaar caters for almost every requirement imaginable. There is the fish street, dried fish of all possible varieties and whole fresh fish from baby shark and squid to the ubiquitous bangda (mackerel). Fresh fruit and vegetables are gathered together and beautifully displayed, from huge sweet potatoes, and pumpkins and the local shiny red brown Moira bananas to the tiny fresh beans and other pulses.

Education

As of November 2023, the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education recognised the following institutes in Mapusa.[3]

Higher secondary schools

  • St. Xavier's Higher Secondary School
  • DMS PVS Sarojini Madhusudan Kushe Higher Secondary School
  • Purushottom Walawalkar Higher Secondary School was established in 1988 and is run by the Saraswat Vidyalaya Society.[4]
  • Shree Ganesh Higher Secondary School

High schools

  • New Goa's G. S. Amonkar vidya mandir
  • Dattaram Mantravadi Memorial High School
  • St. Mary's Convent High School
  • St. Francis Xavier High School
  • Janata High School
  • Dyanprasarak Vidyalaya High School
  • Saraswat Vidyalaya High School was established as a primary school[5] in 1911 to give instruction in the Marathi language.[6]
  • St. Antony's High School
  • Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar High School
  • Shree Ganesh Vidya Mandir High School
  • Divine Mercy Edgar Francisco High School
  • Corner Stone High School

Higher education

As of November 2023, the following institutions, affiliated to Goa University, were recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC).[7]

Landmarks

Mapusa, however, does not have too many tourist sites. There are a few colonial era Municipal buildings on the Altinho hill, but it is a fairly small town with mostly modern buildings spread around the slopes of Altinho.[citation needed]

The most famous local shrine is Shree Dev Bodgeshwar Sansthan of Lord Bodgeshwar, located on the outskirts of the town in the middle of some rice fields, which is beautifully lit up at night and draw thousands of devotees for its annual Jatra.[citation needed]

The St. Jerome Church, founded in 1594 and rebuilt several times since, is famous for the annual feast of Our Lady of Miracles.[8]

The Mapusa Market gathers Goan traders as well as merchants from adjacent states for goods such as spices, toddy and home-grown goods.[9] For example, there are four varieties of locally grown bananas sold in this market and other varieties imported from Karnataka. There is also a part of the market where the traders specialize in repairing utensils such as blenders and food mixers for the preparation of spices.

Duler Stadium is an association football stadium located in Mapusa. The 10000 seater stadium has Astroturf surface. Goa Professional League and Santosh Trophy games are held here.

  • Aerial View Of Mapusa, Goa
  • A street in Mapusa
  • Shree Dev Bodgeshwer
  • Portuguese Colonial Era Municipal Building Mapusa
  • St. Jerome Church, Mapusa
  • Downtown Mapusa, India
  • Verla-Canca Saibaba Temple located outside Mapusa, Goa

Notable people

References

  1. [1]
    Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Mapusa
  2. [2]
    "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
  3. [3]
    "Recognized institutes (Mapusa/Mhapsa search)". www.gbshse.net. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  4. [4]
    "Message From Principal". Saraswat Education Society's Purushottom Walawalkar Higher Secondary School. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  5. [5]
    Ribeiro, Leila. "A Review of the Portuguese Education System in Goa" (PDF). Kruti. 2 (2): 57. ISSN 2349-8358 – via Google Scholar.
  6. [6]
    Mhamai, S. K. (2002). Goa: Educational Institutions Through the Ages. Directorate of Archives and Archaeology, Government of Goa. p. 56. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  7. [7]
    "Colleges under section 2 (f)& 12(B) of the UGC Act 1956 (Goa search)". University Grants Commission. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  8. [8]
    "Thousands attend Our Lady of Miracles feast at Mapusa". The Times of India. 17 April 2018.
  9. [9]
    Hashemi-Nezhad, Bahbak, Burton, Andrew and Losal, Stanzin (10 December 2017). "Mapping Mapusa Market". Research Online. Retrieved 21 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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