Azad Maidan

Azad Maidan

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One of the most famous landmarks in Goa is the Azad Maidan located in Panjim. It has several great monuments and structures here which remind you of the Greek architectural style. It is also usually a point of meeting for the Goans when staging a protest where they all gather in large numbers. There is the TB Cunha Memorial in the Azad Maidan which was built by the Portuguese. It originally housed the statue of their great adventurer, Afonso de Albuquerque made of bronze and about two meters tall. At present it contains the remains of Dr.Tristao de Braganza Cunha, a great Goan intellectual and crusader for freedom. At the pavilion in the center is his statue. Beside the statue there is a monument dedicated to those who fought to liberate Goa from the Portuguese Rule. To the west of the maidan is a long broad building which is the Police Headquarters which was previously the former Portuguese army barracks and Military Headquarters which was built in 1832. The Menezes Braganza Institute is located at the far end of the maidan and it has a massive library, originally known as the Vasco da Gama Institute. Bang opposite the Institute, next to the ferry terminal is a monument dedicated to the victims who died in 1901, when a ferry drowned in Mandovi River going from Panjim to Verem. Eighty one people died in this accident and this memorial was built by a Goan family living in Aden, since they lost their relatives in this incident. Opposite the square towards the end is the Government Printing Press and at the back of this full building in a big quadrangle view is conquered by the other State Government Offices. If you walk a few steps ahead on the opposite side of the square from the Police Headquarters you will reach the Municipal Gardens which is quaint little place to relax and enjoy natures splendor. There is also the Aga Khan Jamatkhanan which is situated near the Azad Maidan and is especially for the Ismalia sect of Shia Muslims.