Before the shifting of the capital, Panaji was a fishing village with a few huts and was noted only for the fortress built by Yusuf Adil Shah, which now houses the governor-general’s palace. As in Mumbai, the land surface here has been formed by filling up hollows gradually and reclaiming large tracts of marshy land. But now, Panaji is marked with lots of coconut trees, creeks and fields. Panaji, which was chosen as the residence of the Portuguese viceroy in 1759 AD, was formally raised to the rank of the capital of Portuguese India by a royal decree in 1843 AD. With a row of public buildings and elegant private residences, the city looks picturesque from the river. This impression gains strength as one goes into the interior along the neat and spacious roads with beautiful houses on either side. One of the important public structures is the barracks, an immense quadrangular edifice, the eastern wing of which accommodates the College of Lyceum, the public library, and the professional institute for teaching chemistry, agriculture and other sciences. Panaji, the capital town, is one of the wards of Nova Goa. It is on the left bank of Mandovi river, about three miles from its mouth.