Cumbarjua

Cumbarjua is an island town on the banks of the Mandovi River in Goa. It is situated to the east of Goa's capital Panjim at a distance of 20 kilometres.LocationA 20-km eastward drive from Panjim through Ribandar, Old Goa, Corlim, Banastarim, Tivrem and Marcel brings you into Cumbarjua via its bridged entrance. But the 13-km journey through the cool confines of Gandaulim and ferry crossing is what throws up a kind of vintage charm. Merely a stone’s throw away from each other, the Gandaulim-Cumbarjua distance across the crocodile-inhabited canal is perhaps the shortest navigated route in riverine Goa. Crocodile sightings are a common feature along the Cumbarjua canal, but an absolute rarity in the rest of the state.HistoryCumbarjua’s history dates back to the early 15th century. On the west was Gandaulim which marked the fortified border of the Portuguese-ruled Goa island (Tiswadi), and on the east was Marcel, which demarcated the end of the Bijapur’s Adil Shah empire. Sandwiched between the two warring powers, the island, which was considered as no man’s land was often used as a launching pad for attacks on each other by the two aggressors. Later, attempts were also made to capture it and it continued to bear the brunt and scars of these battles. On November 25, 1510, the Cumbarjua island was annexed by the Portuguese from the Muslim king Adil Shah.After Cumbarjua was captured, the Portuguese began to develop it and the then Governor Diogo Lopes de Sequeira in 1545 handed it over to a Catholic priest Fr. George Dias Cabral, for three generations, with the condition that one-tenth of the produce were to be given to the government in the name of God annually.