Police are keeping a close watch on all the fishing jetties in Goa, making it mandatory for trawler owners to register all workers employed with them.
With just a week left for the fishing season to commence, the workers from Orissa, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra have begun arriving after a one-and-half month holiday.
Police officials confirm taking precautions in the wake of reported terror threat to the Western Coast from Pakistan-sponsored terrorist groups.
"There is a general terror threat to the coastline. It's not specific to the western coast or Goa," Deputy Inspector General of Police Ujjwal Mishra told PTI.
Militant outfits taking advantage of the porous western coast to execute the terror attack was a possibility discussed last year, officials confirmed.
The use of trawlers and workers was not ruled out in the reports.
"We have envisaged a coastal security scheme. It's a fullproof one," Mishra said.
The police along with the state fisheries department have decided to verify records of all the workers.
"We were informed by police to take special precautions and immediately report to them any suspicious activity off-shore," Sitakant Parab, chairman, Mandovi Fishermen Marketing Cooperative Society, stated.
Parab's society has around 250 trawlers employing 3,000 workers under its umbrella, which operates from Malim jetty across Panaji city.
The DIG stated that police till now have verified 2,100 workers since last year and the process to give them identity cards is in progress.
The trawler owners, however, alleged laxity on part of the police as for the last one year only two thousand fishermen's forms were taken.
"There are more than 10,000 people employed on all the seven jetties across the state. The process will naturally take time," Mishra said.
