Goa denies terror threat ahead of Prez visit
Chief Minister Digambar Kamat has dismissed as mere speculation reports that Goa had received a warning about a possible Lashkar strike on this tourist destination ahead of President Pratibha Patil’s visit this weekend.
Besides the President, Goa is hosting the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) which opens on Monday and international tourists here next week for church services that precede the December 3 feast of St Francis Xavier at Old Goa.
These big events are causing security concerns for the police but Kamat said he had met Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in Delhi and no such alert had been sounded out.
However, security forces here will be stretched to their limits, police sources said. “We had sought 6 companies of para-military forces but were given only 4,” a senior officer said.
Home Minister Ravi Naik said reserve battalions were also being fanned out to assist para-military forces stationed on the tourist coast, at the Old Goa feast and the film festival.
He said Goa had to reassess its security cover for the tourist season after the threat warning it received from international intelligence agencies last year. “We brought in additional forces last year, and we find these sufficient for security requirements,” he said.
