Daman city

Daman is divided by the Daman Ganga River into two parts namely Nanidaman (Nani meaning "small") and Motidaman (Moti meaning "big"). Ironically, Nanidaman is the larger of the two towns. It is the downtown area containing most of the important entities like the major hospitals, supermarkets, major residential areas etc. While Motidaman is mainly the old city inhabited mostly by the fishing communities and government officers (most of the public offices are located there). Both Nanidaman and Motidaman are connected to each other by two bridges (one for light vehicles like two-wheelers and the other for heavy vehicles like trucks, cars etc). The smaller bridge collapsed in August, 2004 killing 28 school children. It was replaced but that bridge also collapsed. Since then it has not been rebuilt. Small boats ferry people from one side to the other several times a day for INR2.New bridge has been constructed that connects two parts of daman i.e Nani Daman and Moti Daman.

Daman was discovered in 1498 by Vasco de Gama.[citation needed] Soon after it was settled as a Portuguese colony and remained so for over 400 years. A larger fort was built in Motidaman in the 16th century to guard against the Mughals who ruled the area until the Portuguese arrived. It still stands today, most of it preserved in its original form. Today the majority of the municipal government offices are situated inside this fort.

India went to war with Portugal for control of Daman in 1961. Many of Daman's Catholic citizens fought on the side of Portugal,[citation needed] but could not withstand the Indian onslaught. To this day, many of Daman's adults consider themselves more Portuguese than Indian.[citation needed]

Located 193 kilometres (120 mi) north of Mumbai, Daman, along with neighboring Vapi and Silvassa form an important manufacturing hub. A variety of products like pesticides, chemicals, fertilizers, toys, electronics, dyes, printing ink, windmills, plastics, etc. are manufactured here.

People enjoy a modest quality of life here as Daman has a number of reputed hospitals, schools and other public institutions. Educated and well qualified people from all over India migrate here in search of work.

Daman is well-connected to other parts of India primarily though NH-8. The neighboring city Vapi (located 12 kilometres (7 mi) from Daman) is connected to the Indian rail network.