Velim (), ( Konkani: ''Velle''), formerly Velliapura, is a large village situated in Salcete, neighbouring Quepem ''taluka'' and falls under

South Goa district South Goa district is one of two districts that comprises the state of Goa, India, within the region known as the Konkan. It is bounded by North Goa district to the north, the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state to the east and south, wh ...

, in the Indian coastal state of Goa. It has access to the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

via the Sal river that flows through it and shares its borders with neighbouring villages/cities of

Assolna Assolna ( '' Konkani'':असोळणें or Osollonne) is a village, considered a town for census purposes, in the Salcete sub-district of South Goa district, in the state of Goa, India. It is known for restaurants, ferry, the small traditi ...

Ambelim Ambelim ( Konkani: ''Ambelle'') is a large village that's located within the Salcete taluka and falls under the South Goa district. It shares its border with Velim and Assolna villages. The village has a predominant population from the fishing ...

and

Cuncolim Cuncolim is a town in South Goa district in the state of Goa, India. Etymology The name 'Cuncolim' is derived from the fact that the village was known as 'Kumkumahalli', the place where '' kumkuma '' (vermilion) is produced. Geography Cunc ...

. The village consists of 22 hamlets or subdivisions that have been put together into 9 wards. As of 2020, the village has a total population of about 8600 residents residing in 2568 households. It is also a part of Velim Assembly constituency.

Etymology

The word "Velim" derives from two words, ''"Vell"'' which translates to "shore" and ''"halli"'' which means "village", put together to form Velim, also known as village with a seashore.

Geography

Velim is located at . It has an average elevation of .

Demographics

The village had a population of 5,955 residents of which 2,805 were males and 3,150 are females, making up to 1,536 families as per the Population Census 2011. The population is predominantly

Roman catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

s, with a small number of

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and

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

. The people of Velim often refer to themselves as ''Vellikar'' or ''Velimcar''.

History

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". Jayakesi, the son of Shashtha-Deva, was a very powerful ruler mentioned in a stone inscription of Kadamba King Jayakesi I, dated 1054 CE as ''Panajnakhani'' (present-day

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 estuar ...

), giving him the epithet of ''Padavalendra'' which is

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

for lord of the western ocean. Twelfth century copper carvings reveal that princes and lords from neighbouring kingdoms traveled to ''Chandrapura'' (present-day

Chandor Chandor is a village in Salcete sub-district of South Goa, in the Indian state of Goa. It lies on the southern bank of the Zuari River and western bank of the Kushavati River. History The ancient city of Chandrapura, where Chandor now stands, s ...

), 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.

Portuguese period

According to a local legend,

St. Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 15 ...

visited the village before moving to

Old Goa Old Goa ( Konkani: ; pt, Velha Goa, translation='Old Goa') is a historical site and city situated on the southern banks of the River Mandovi, within the Tiswadi ''taluka'' (''Ilhas'') of North Goa district, in the Indian state of Goa. The ...

in the 1500s during the

Portuguese India The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a s ...

era for his missionary work and converted many locals into

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. It is said that Francis Xavier landed at the port of

Cabo de Rama Praça do Cabo de Rama is a medieval hillfort on the coast of Canacona, Goa. History In the 1760s, the Portuguese gained control of Cabo de Rama after the Raja of Soonda surrendered his territory to them in return for protection against Hyder A ...

during the time and reached Velim, a village that was away. His missionary work was however looked down upon by the local

blacksmiths A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

who later drove him away. As of today, Francis Xavier is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholic Church, Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocacy, advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, ...

of the Velim

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Village subdivisions/wards

The village wards include, ''Naik-Caiero'', ''Silvas'', ''Ubdando'', ''Mascarenhas/Goleaband'', ''Cumbeabhat/Paxel'', ''Gorcomorod/Gorka-Moroda'', ''Caroi'', ''Sibrete'', ''

Tollecanto Tollecanto is a village Subdivision (India), subdivision located within the Velim, Goa, Velim village, situated in the Salcete taluka and falls under the South Goa district, in the Indian coastal state of Goa. It about away from the Margao city. ...

'', '' Baradi/Bapsoro'', ''Muxer'' , ''Pocklivoll/Khoroit'', ''Rangalim/Zuem'', ''Carxeta'', ''

Cutbona Cutbona ( Konkani: ''Kutbonn''), is a village subdivision located within the Velim village, neighbouring Betul. It is situated in the Salcete ''taluka'' and falls under the South Goa district, in the Indian coastal state of Goa. It is abou ...

'', ''Zaino/Olli-Zaino/Fondop''.

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 away from the

Margao Margao or Madgaon is the commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It stands on banks of the Sal river and is the administrative headquarters of Salcete sub-district and South Goa district. It is Goa's second largest city by population a ...

city. It has an urban appearance and is home to the Velim

village panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...

. Apart from residential areas, it includes a small

housing complex A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States a ...

, general market, stores, and a

fish market A fish market is a marketplace for selling fish and fish products. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both. Retail fish markets, a type of wet m ...

, 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. One of the two

catholic churches The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a p ...

of the village, the

Church is located in the vicinity of the velim ''panchayat''. It is also close to the

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

affiliated high school bearing the same name and caters to students from first to

tenth grade Tenth grade or grade 10 (called Year Eleven in England and Wales, and sophomore year in the US) is the tenth year of school post-kindergarten or the tenth year after the first introductory year upon entering compulsory schooling. In many parts of ...

. The interspersed in the architectural framework of this ward are a significant number of

coconut palms The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or ...

Ward II

Ward II is a hilly area, including village subdivisions Mascarenhas/Goleaband, Cumbeabhat (part), Cumbeabhat/Paxel; the ward consists of large

forest cover Forest cover is the amount of forest that covers a particular area of land. It may be measured as relative (in percent) or absolute (in square kilometres/ square miles). Around a third of the world's surface is covered with forest, with closed-cano ...

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 The cashew tree (''Anacardium occidentale'') is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus '' Anacardium'' that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as , but the dwarf c ...

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...

, and

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or ...

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 Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to anima ...

and also used as

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history th ...

. 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 Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *An List of ethnic slurs#P, ethnic slur for an Irishman Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon *Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird ...

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 Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection ...

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 Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface fl ...

that runs through this ward, which was constructed for the supply of water for irrigation purposes from the Salaulim Dam.

Government and politics

Velim is part of Velim Assembly constituency and

South Goa Lok Sabha constituency South Goa Lok Sabha constituency (Mormugao prior to 2008) is one of two Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Goa in western India along with North Goa. Assembly segments Presently, South Goa Lok Sabha constituency comprises 20 Vidhan Sa ...

Sports

The village has a playground located opposite to the St. Francis Xavier Church. It also has a sports complex, constructed by then Velim constituency MLA,

Benjamin Silva Benjamin Silva is an Indian politician. He was elected to the Goa Legislative Assembly from Velim in the 2012 Goa Legislative Assembly election The Goa legislative assembly election was held on 3 March 2012, to select the 40 members of the Six ...

, situated in

, known as the Velim sports complex that shut its construction since 2017. On 26 March 2022, The Director of

Sports Authority of Goa The Sports Authority of Goa commonly abbreviated as SAG, is a body owned fully by the Government of Goa. It is responsible for the development of sports in the Indian state of Goa. It currently owns and maintains 14 sports complexes which inc ...

, Vandana Rao assured to take appropriate actions on the ambitious project. The initiative was led by the current MLA of Velim constituency,

Cruz Silva Cruz Silva (born 28 December 1969) is an Indian politician and civil engineer who serves as a Member of the Goa Legislative Assembly; representing the Velim Assembly constituency. He is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party. Silva was elected as an ...

who sent letters to the SAG director and other sports officials to direct the examination of the project, further ensuring that the infrastructure is put to use for the benefit of the local youth. He also suggested a possibility of having the sports complex host the FIFA U-17 Girls World cup. The inspection revealed that the infrastructure was ready in all aspects with only the football ground pitches that were left incomplete. The director promised to place the proposal of the sports complex as a venue to host the

2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was the 7th edition of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, the multinational–international women's youth football championship, contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, sinc ...

. Fr. Allan Travasso, the priest in charge of St. Rock Church, Tollecanto, stated that the director was thrilled to notice the sports complex with so many facilities and infrastructure. He also appreciated the work done by Benjamin Silva towards the sports complex and further stated that the complex should also become a

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

Notable people

* Antonio Piedade da Cruz, 20th-century painter and sculptor * Ben Antao, writer, journalist, teacher, writer and certified financial planner * Bonfilio D'Cruz, former director of education, government of Goa * Braz Pinto, village chronicler * Coly Col de Velim (Colin Crasto) Konkani tiatr director *

Comedian Selvy Matheus Correia (14 February 1974 – 25 July 2022), known professionally as Comedian Selvy, was an Indian comedian, actor, playwright, singer, director, and producer known for his work in Konkani cinema, Konkani films and ''tiatr'' productions ...

(Matheus Correia; 1974 –2022), Konkani comedian, actor, singer, playwright, director and producer * Debbie Fernandes, village chronicler * Dr. Antonio Xavier D'silva, medical practitioner * Dr.

Sebastiao Mazarelo Sebastiao Mazarelo was an Indian politician and medical practitioner. He was the first member of the Goa, Daman and Diu Legislative Assembly from the Cuncolim Assembly constituency Cuncolim Assembly constituency is one of the 40 Goa Legis ...

, first MLA of

Cuncolim Assembly constituency Cuncolim Assembly constituency is one of the 40 Goa Legislative Assembly constituencies of the state of Goa in southern India. Cuncolim is also one of the 20 constituencies falling under the South Goa Lok Sabha constituency South Goa Lok ...

and medical practitioner * Dr. Shivram Usgaonkar, medical practitioner * Francis Braz, social activist and former president of AVC Lions Club * Fr.

Nevel Gracias Nevel Lourdes Sacramento Gracias (11 February 1964 – 13 May 2022) was an Indian Catholic priest, playwright, actor, singer, composer, director, and literary editor who primarily worked on the Konkani stage, best known for his lenten '' tiatr ...

(1964 – 2022), popular

tiatrist is a type of musical theatre popular in the state of Goa on the west coast of India as well as in Mumbai and with expatriate communities in the Middle East, United Kingdom and other cities where Konkani speakers have a considerable presence. The ...

known for

lenten Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, ...

tiatrs. * Jose Mario Vaz, former headmaster of St. Xaviers High School. * Larita Fernandes, former deputy sarpanch *

Leander Paes Leander Adrian Paes ( ; born 17 June 1973) is an Indian former professional tennis player. He is regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players ever. He holds the record for the most doubles wins in the Davis Cup. Paes won eight men ...

, retired Indian professional Tennis player and politician * Luis Mendes,

freedom fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

and Goan

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

* Melvyn Sanches, former sarpanch *

Roque Santana Fernandes Roque Santana Joao Fernandes (15 March 1927 – 12 January 2007) was an Indian politician and freedom fighter from Goa. He was a member of the Goa, Daman and Diu Legislative Assembly from 1967 to 1977, representing the Cuncolim Assembly constit ...

, freedom fighter and former MLA of Cuncolim Assembly constituency * Savio D'silva, South Goa

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...

district president, former president of Cutbona Boat Owners Association and former sarpanch *

Savio Rodrigues Savio Oliver Ignatius Rodrigues (born 31 July 1976) is an Indian journalist, writer, entrepreneur, and politician based in Velim, Goa. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Goa Chronicle'', a news portal. Rodrigues is a Bharatiya Janata Pa ...

, writer, journalist, environmentalist and politician * Sushila Sawant Mendes, associate history

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

at Goa Government College of Arts, Science, Quepem * Vinay Tari, president of Cutbona Fisheries Co-operative Society * Vece Paes, retired Indian field hockey player * Wilson Benigno Duarte Mazarello, former footballer and medical practitioner

References

Citations

* *

External links

* *
St. Francis Xavier Church, Velim
{{Authority control Comunidades of Goa Villages in South Goa district