Uniformed police on motorcycles can be now seen riding on the sands and hotels have been asked to keep a check on visitors. Such a reaction in Goa after a terror attack somewhere in the world is not unusual. It happens every time terrorists strike elsewhere. There is immediately increased surveillance in the State for a few days or even perhaps a few weeks and then everything returns back to normal, as the terror attack becomes just a fading memory.
But, if we are to keep Goa safe, we need to learn a few lessons from this attack, and implement a stricter security regime in the State.
Sri Lanka was a soft target for the terrorists, as after the decades of terror in the island country that had been brought about by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam, the country was getting back on its feet with the insurgency having died down. Tourism was booming and the security cover may have been dropped down several notches. With the old issue having died down the security alert would naturally have been decreased. Besides, tourists on a holiday are never comfortable with meeting armed forces on the streets and being stopped by them. But, when an attack is least expected is the time when the terrorists act. Goa has to grasp the fact that increased alertness after a terror attack will not deter the terrorists. To foil a terror attack, the security cover has to be consistent at all times, and not just at specific points of time.
A few months ago, during the peak tourism period, the Tourism Minister had said that Goa was a safe destination for tourists. That is true, it has been safe, but the security in Goa has also been pretty porous over the past few years, and this can be substantiated by the number of persons who have been arrested for terror links, and who have at some point of time holidayed in Goa, as in the case of David Headley who conducted the recee for the 2611 Mumbai attack. The local authorities have been none the wiser about the links of the terrorists to Goa, and learnt of them only when these were revealed by the terror suspects who had been arrested elsewhere.
How rigorous, therefore, is the security in the State? Can we even say that it is tight at all times, or just at times when an attack takes place elsewhere? What has kept Goa safe from terror attacks, is not the security cover provided by the authorities, but the fact that the State, as revealed by research on terrorism, is seen as a ‘comfort zone’ for individuals involved in subversive activities. This means that terrorists or terror suspects could have been using Goa as a location for rest and recreation or even for planning. The fact that a number of suspects who have been arrested have confessed to staying in Goa, indicates that this conclusion drawn by researchers is not totally erroneous.
Goa has remained safe, it should continue to remain so. It can’t happen if security measures are increased only at certain times. Policemen riding motorcycles on the beaches won’t keep Goa safe. Terrorists do not target open spaces, they carry out their activities in enclosed areas, where they can hit the maximum people. Those are the areas that the security agencies should be concentrating on. Goa Police is now undertaking an audit of security at hotels and casinos. Can they also hold surprise inspections at the same places at other times to check for preparedness?
