Ponda

Ponda also known as Fonda, is a city and a municipal council in the South Goa district of Goa, India. Situated in the focal region of Goa, Ponda lies 28 km 17 miles southeast of Panaji, the capital of Goa and 17 km 10.6 miles upper east of Margao, the area capital. Ponda is otherwise called "Antruz Mahal" in view of the nearness of ious renowned sanctuaries and rich social legacy. The modern focus of the state, Ponda is home to numerous substantial manufacturing plants and mechanical bequests, and is Goa's quickest developing city.

Ponda shaped piece of the Novas Conquistas New Conquests of Portuguese India. It was administered by the Sonde Rajas under the Vijayanagara Empire and the Bijapur Sultanate. In the sixteenth century, because of the nonattendance of the Portuguese, Ponda was a place of refuge for Hindus escaping abuse by Jesuits and the Portuguese. In 1675, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj seized Ponda from the Bijapur Sultanate. It remained some portion of the Maratha Empire until 1764. Under Shivaji, Saundekar Raja was the vassal of Ponda.

The woodlands of Ponda were perfect spots for Hindus to shape temporary sanctuaries with the icons they had rescued from the broken sanctuaries of Sashti. These temporary sanctuaries were gradually remodeled as the Hindus picked up flourishing. Presently, a large portion of the significant Hindu sanctuaries in Goa are found in Ponda. In June 1756 Luis Mascarenhas, Count of AlvaConde de Alva, the Portuguese Viceroy was murdered in real life by Maratha Army in Goa. The Portuguese in the end assumed control over the region in 1791 from the Raja of Sonda, alongside Quepem, Canacona and Sanguem.