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Silvassa Paço de Arcos[1] | |
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City | |
 Silvassa Townhall | |
  Silvassa  Silvassa  Silvassa | |
| Coordinates:20°16′15″N73°00′18″E / 20.2708162°N 73.0049524°E /20.2708162; 73.0049524 | |
| Country |  India |
| Union territory |  DNDD |
| District | Dadra and Nagar Haveli |
| Founded by | Carlos Eugénio Correia da Silva[2] |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal Council |
| • Body | Silvassa Municipal Council |
| • Mayor | Rakeshsinh Chauhan |
| Area | |
• Total | 16 km2 (6 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 32 m (105 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 98,266 |
| • Density | 6,100/km2 (16,000/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | |
| • Additional official | Gujarati[3] |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| Telephone code | 0260 |
| Vehicle registration | DD-01 |
| Website | dnh |
Silvassa is a city and the headquarters of theDadra and Nagar Haveli district in Union territory ofDadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in western India. It is today the largest city in the union territory. The city was chosen as one of the hundred Indian cities inGovernment of India's flagshipSmart Cities Mission.
The former official name of the city, duringPortuguese rule, wasPaço de Arcos (Engl.: "palace of arches", also spelledPaço d'Arcos),[4] named after the town ofthat same name located inOeiras,Lisbon.[5]
Until about theturn of the century, in the late 1800s, Silvassa was one of many small villages inPortuguese India. Its importance started to increase by the mid-1880s when the Portuguese administration, under then Governor-GeneralCarlos Eugénio Correia da Silva, Count of Paço de Arcos, decided to transfer the seat of thePragana Nagar Avely municipality further inland fromDarará. On 11 February 1885, by decree from the Portuguese Ministry of the Overseas, Silvassa was designated as a town (vila), and given the name of Paço de Arcos.[6] However, the endemic name prevailed, and the town continued to be known locally and beyond as Silvassa, being referred-to as such in official documents. The town remained the municipal capital until theIndian Annexation of 1954.
According to the 2011 Indiacensus,[7] Silvassa had a population of 98,265.
Gujarati andHindi are the most commonly spoken languages in Silvassa; as the city lies in the northern part ofNagar Haveli, Gujarati and its dialects are more widely spoken compared to the southern part of Nagar Haveli, whereMarathi,Konkani and its dialects hold prominence. As with most larger towns and cities in India (with a somewhat centralised location), Silvassa is home to people from virtually every part of the nation, with numerous languages being spoken there besides the widespread Hindi, Marathi or Gujarati; one may hearBengali,Bhojpuri,Haryanvi,Kannada,Malayalam,Marwari,Odia,Punjabi,Tamil,Telugu orUrdu, amongst other tongues, when in Silvassa.
As a former Portuguese colony, Silvassa has a significantRoman Catholic population, and there are still a few citizens who speakPortuguese as their first or second language.
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Far from being a tribal region, Silvassa has now developed into an industrial hub with major industrial companies setting up manufacturing bases in the region. Its initial tax-free status granted by the Indian government to boost industrial investment in the former Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli has contributed to the region's industrial growth.[citation needed] The industrial landscape of Silvassa and surrounding region has been altered dramatically. It is one of the largest states in collection of excise duty from more than 3,500 small and medium industries. Silvassa is a big hub for plastic products and its products are found throughout India thanks to their good quality and low cost. Apart from all this, Silvassa is also known for various FMCG distributors like Gajra Distribution having reach throughout the country.
Silvassa hosts more than 200,000 floating population, coming from all parts of the country; the laborers mostly hail from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha. Other floating community is from the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
Silvassa is connected to Maharashtra and Gujarat viaNational Highway 848A.[8] Silvassa has a well-maintained road network. The nearest railway stations are inVapi 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) away andBhilad, 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) away. Daman is 30 km away via Bhilad on National Highway number 8. Mumbai is 160 km away from Silvassa, via Bhilad, on National Highway number 8 Surat is 130 km away from Silvassa, viaBhilad, on National Highway number 8. Auto-rickshaw services ply between Vapi and Silvassa at a regular interval and easily available from Vapi (E) railway station. Gujarat Road Transport Buses ply between Silvassa and Vapi at a regular interval.
Silvassa Smart City Limited currently operates 10 Electric Buses to and from the Silvassa Bus Stand, destinations include Daman, Vapi, Khanvel, Dudhani, and Mandoni.
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