Early history

World renowned historian, George M. Moraes wrote about the Velliapura (present-day Velim) family, in his book "Kadamba Kula, A History of Ancient and Mediaeval Karnataka".^[9] Jayakesi, the son of Shashtha-Deva, was a very powerful ruler^[10][11] mentioned in a stone inscription of Kadamba King Jayakesi I, dated 1054 CE as Panajnakhani (present-day Panaji),^[12] giving him the epithet of Padavalendra which is Kannada for lord of the western ocean.

Twelfth century copper carvings reveal that princes and lords from neighbouring kingdoms traveled to Chandrapura (present-day Chandor), to pay homage to Kadamba Jayakesi, who was the sovereign of Konkan. "Velliapura Viragal " at 'Xavierian Research Centre tell that Jayakesi himself was in a battle with his rival to retain this place Velliapura won a decisive victory, which was his southern capital.

According to their resource after the 1266/1345, 16 October massacre the surviving Queen, Vinomaih devi, moved away from the furious Mohammedans in Chandrapura, and was taken into hiding in the Velliapura royal compound by the foothills of Velim. The inscription stones in Kannada found at Velim site tell that Suriya-Deva 1345CE slain-ed sovereign of Chandrapura, his Queen Vinomaih-devi died and was cremated in Velliapura by her nephew Jayeshi, son of ShankaraDeva, grandson of Purandara Deva.^[13][14]

Portuguese period

According to a local legend, St. Francis Xavier visited the village before moving to Old Goa in the 1500s during the Portuguese India era for his missionary work and converted many locals into Christians. It is said^{[by whom?]} that Francis Xavier landed at the port of Cabo de Rama during the time and reached Velim, a village that was 14 km (8.7 mi) away.^{[citation needed]} His missionary work was however looked down upon by the local blacksmiths who later drove him away.^{[clarification needed][citation needed]} As of today,^{[clarification needed]} Francis Xavier is the patron saint of the Velim parish.

Ward I

Ward I is a well developed ward, containing the village subdivisions, Naik-Caiero, Silvas and Ubdando; it shares its borders with neighbouring subdivisions, Cumbeabhat (part), Mascarenhas/Goleaband and Cumbeabhat/Paxel. It is part of the Velim Assembly constituency and is about 15 km (9.3 mi) away from the Margao city.^[15] It has an urban appearance and is home to the Velim village panchayat. Apart from residential areas, it includes a small housing complex, general market, stores, and a fish market, on a small scale.

The manufacturing and telecommunications hallmark in the ward can also be seen in the steel cupboard fabricating factory and the BSNL tower that's located at Naik-Caiero.^[16] One of the two catholic churches of the village, the St. Francis Xavier Church is located in the vicinity of the velim panchayat. It is also close to the diocesan affiliated high school bearing the same name and caters to students from first to tenth grade. The interspersed in the architectural framework of this ward are a significant number of coconut palms.^[15][17]

Ward II

Ward II is a hilly area, including village subdivisions Mascarenhas/Goleaband, Cumbeabhat (part), Cumbeabhat/Paxel; the ward consists of large forest cover and paddy fields that are interspersed with a number of houses. A consequential proportion of the tribal community of the Velim village are located in this ward. Cashew, mango, and coconut are the prominent large vegetation species to be found here. The appearance of wild seasonal mushrooms is also considerable.

Domesticated animals are kept as livestock and also used as dairy farming. Some of the freshwater fish that can be found here are thigur, chikole, and valaye. A large variety of wild fauna are found here, including various types of snakes, leopards, rabbits, foxes, and monkeys, as well as birds such as bulbuls, parrots, karate, cuckoos, etc.

Ward III

Ward III has a very noteworthy proportion of the tribal community of the village, which comprises 80% of the total population in the ward. The ward includes hilly areas with forest cover, as well as cultivated agricultural fields that are interspersed with houses. The agricultural fields are used for the cultivation of paddy and vegetables. A notable number of coconut and banana plants can be spotted, and cashew is the most commonly occurring species within the forest cover. There are two freshwater springs that can be found in this ward.

The occurrence of wild mushrooms and a variety of medicinal plants are substantial. The fresh water fish includes tigur and goromb. Wild fauna like leopards, rabbits, foxes, monkeys; snakes such as cobra, python, rattle snake, russel's viper, and mandulpeshe; and birds like bulbul, parrot, karate, cuckoo, and peafowl are found here. There's also a canal that runs through this ward, which was constructed for the supply of water for irrigation purposes from the Salaulim Dam.