The Monte Hill of Margao

The Monte Hill - is a small hill located in the town of Margao in Goa, a former Portuguese colony, now a part of India. The hill offers picturesque views of the city and has a chapel on the top of the hill. The Chapel is of Our Lady of Piety and is a popular amongst the Catholic section of the population of Margao, especially during the feasts of Our Lady and also during the holy week leading to Easter where in a procession is held from the Chapel to the Holy Spirit Church lying at the Bottom of the Monte Hill.

While the Hill has always had very few residents and is a secluded spot, a major portion of the Hill was taken over to build the T.B. Hospital and the Hospicio Hospital. At the bottom of the Hill, opposite the Hospicio Hospital is the Margao Cemetery. These were built during the Portuguese era when TB was an incurable disease. Patients suffering from TB were confined to the TB hospital and kept in seclusion till death. Once a patient died, the mass was held at the Monte Hill Chapel and the body was then taken to the Cemetery lying below for burial. Being a place with such a history, the Monte had remained a secluded spot. Once India took over, a military supply camp, a Government guest house, A judges residential colony, an Electricity supply station and a giant water tank have all been built on the hill, the last expanse of space in the ever increasing city. Its spectacular views of the city and in some areas,of the sea has not escaped the eyes of the builder mafia, one of whom has even built his own mansion on the controversial hill slope after cutting the hill, with the authorities as usual playing a blind eye to this.

The Monte hill had a natural green cover, mostly comprising of Gulmohar, Banyan, Cashew, Mango, and Coconut trees, besides innumerable bushes growing all over. The monsoon was a spectacle as the hill used to be fully green and very soothing to the eyes, A lot of the the green cover has been destroyed to make way for human settlement and other provisions. This has also led to a few landslides and crashing of old trees. A proper conservation and replanting process must be implemented as landslides threaten the existence of the hill.

The Monte hill is also a spot where a good mix of the crowd come to for different purposes, During the early morning it is frequented by young and middle aged people on their morning walks or jogs, later in the day its mostly the youth who come to the hill to hang out or in some cases, to seek solace from their distress as the hill offers a quiet from the city sounds. There has been a considerable increase in the number of young couples, often school and college going kids who come to the hill to spend time with each other on their bikes or in their cars, this has often been a controversial topic especially for the residents who feel that these couples often proceed to advanced levels of amorous display thinking that the hill is a secluded spot away from prying eyes. During the evenings the hill is filled with people - mostly the elderly who come to enjoy the sunset. There has also been problems with thrash as most visitors to the hill throw away their thrash ( esp plastic, wrappers and paper) around the place making it very messy.

The Monte has also had cases of being frequented by Drug users, and during this period, police raids were very common, besides this there have also been the odd case of suicide, as this is a lonely spot and often bodies have been found after the smell of decay reached the residents.
Over all the few residents of the Monte enjoy a peaceful life and are content with their hill.It has also become a popular hang out for a lot of youth. The residents and visitors should take good care of the hill and play a more concrete role in the conservation and preserving of this beautiful little as its future is linked with theirs.