Daman

Daman, also known as Damao, is an enclave on the western coast of India, surrounded by Valsad district of Gujarat on the north, east and south and the Arabian Sea to the west. The district has an area of 72 km², and a population of 113,949 (2001 census), which increased 83% between 1991 and 2001. Daman lies at the mouth of the Daman Ganga River. Major industries have factories here. The closest railway station is Vapi (7 km).

It is also famous for its beach, Portuguese architecture, and church, and for the scenic beauty in the twin cities of Nani-Daman and Moti-Daman, which lie opposite each other across the Daman Ganga. The chief occupation has been fishing. The city of Surat lies to the north, and Mumbai lies approximately 160 km (100 mi) south of Daman on the Arabian Sea coast in Maharashtra state.

Daman was occupied by the Portuguese in 1531, and was formally ceded to Portugal in 1539 by the Sultan of Gujarat. It remained a Portuguese possession until it was occupied by Indian forces on 19 December 1961.

A bridge over the Daman Ganga between Moti Daman and Nani Daman collapsed during a monsoon on 28 August 2003. 24 people were killed, 17 of them children, when their vehicles plunged into the river [1]. The government constructed a new bridge at a cost of 80 million rupees, but it, too, partially collapsed during torrential rains in August 2004. Recently many families started emigrating to London via Portugal for a better life.