G20 tourism meet: Delegates visit Portuguese-era Fort Aguada, experience Goan heritage

A group of G20 delegates, who have gathered in Goa for two crucial tourism track events, visited the historic Fort Aguada site and experienced a flavour of the Portuguese past of the coastal state. The visit took place Monday evening, and delegates from several member countries and guest nations of the influential bloc were given a guided tour of the part of the fort, which has been converted into a jail museum.

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The G20 delegates were treated to jazz music with a Konkani flavour and some of the traditional Goan food such as fish dangar quesadilla, choriz pao, local jackfruit tostada, and choicest desserts. The fort was built around 1612 to defend the Portuguese hold on Goa, and is situated on the Sinquerim hillock at the mouth of River Mandovi, opening to the Arabian Sea. It is among the unconquered forts in Goa and has two levels -- Upper Fort Aguada and Lower Fort Aguada.

In Portuguese, 'Agua' means water and the fort gets its name from the huge freshwater tank in the upper area, according to a plaque installed at the site. The Lower Aguada Fort lies along the coastline and is fortified with 24 cannons placed along the fortification, transporting visitors to another era.

"While India got Independence in 1947 from the British rule, Goa was liberated in 1961 from the Portuguese rule, during which the site was also used as a jail by the colonial rulers. From Goa's liberation to as recently in history as 2015, this site was used as Goa's Central Jail," an official said.

Now, the site has been reused as a museum and a cultural and recreational space, and it was being showcased to the G20 delegates, she said. A plaque installed at the site reads that Fort Aguada Jail Museum was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 19, 2021 to mark 60 years of Goa Liberation Day.

"A live jazz performance by a band was organised for the delegates inside one of its historic rooms, the walls of which were adorned with rare archival photographs of some of the great jazz musicians from Goa who achieved global fame later. We sourced these photographs from family members of the musicians," the official told PTI.

Goa has rolled out a red carpet for the G20 delegates who have gathered in the coastal state to attend the fourth G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting and and the G20 Tourism Ministerial Meeting from June 19-22.

On Monday, side events were held on cruise tourism to promote sustainability. The actual TWG meeting will begin on Tuesday where Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy will also be addressing the delegates.

"A part of the interior of the Fort Aguada Museum has been given a feel of a forest, and even sitting tables had an abundant display of fruits and vegetables when the delegates sat for high tea. This is in line with sustainability and green tourism that G20 Tourism Working Group has been discussing over the past few months in its meetings," a senior official of the tourism ministry told PTI.

Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte and several senior officials of the ministry also visited the jail museum site. The site was decked up with vibrant G20 themed posters.

"It is a beautiful fort and well preserved. We had a discussion on cruise tourism as a model to promote sustainable and responsible travel in the morning, and then visiting Fort Aguada was another experience in itself. Indus has so much to offer culturally through tourism," an Australian delegate told PTI during the visit to the fort.

Delegates from Germany, Mauritius, Spain, and the US were delighted to visit the Portuguese-era fort and experience a rich layer of history of Goa. The opening event on Monday was held at Cidade de Goa, a classic hotel run by the Taj group. The structure was designed originally by famed architect Charles Correa with a Portuguese theme.

The landscaping and nomenclature of rooms and restaurants of the hotel with Arabian Sea beach literally at its doorstep, virtually transports guests to the Portuguese era.

After sightseeing, a sumptuous dinner was hosted for them at the Taj Holiday Village Resort, with many rooms built in style of Goan villas nestled amid lush greenery, on Monday night. Union Tourism Minister Reddy, Union Minister of State for Tourism S Y Naik, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Goa Tourism Minister Khaunte, and several top officials of the tourism ministry and the Goa government were present on the occasion.

Reddy also tweeted pictures from the visit of G20 delegates to Fort Aguada site.