GOVT TO COME UP WITH SPECIAL PLAN TO PROTECT CHURCHES, TEMPLES

PANJIM: A special action plan will soon be drawn by the state government for the safety of temples around the state, with the backdrop of a spate of robberies taking place in Goan temples. Other religious houses like churches and chapels would also be included in the action plan.

According to a highly placed government source. it was learnt on Saturday that the action plan will be jointly implemented by the volunteers, the respective temple committees and the police. It is expected that the action plan will be finalised by January 12.

The action plan is the outcome of the demand made by a delegation of temple committee members to the Chief Secretary, Mr S K Srivastava earlier this week. Taking cognisance of the demand, the Home Minister, Mr Ravi Naik, Mr Srivastava and the Secretary for Home, Mr Rajiv Verma along with the Collector for North Goa, Mr Mihir Vardhan, the Collector for South Goa, Mr Gokuldas Naik and the police officials discussed the issue and agreed on the necessity for a special action plan.

The meeting also decided to gather all the information as required for providing security to the temples around the state. A number of temples in Goa are yet to be registered and hence the government has very little information about them. It was decided to conduct a survey and collect desired information about such temples as well as study the vulnerable temples.

The high level meeting, it is learnt, tentatively decided on a three-pronged strategy; to provide police patrolling around the temples, aided by assistance from the volunteers with the support of the respective temple committees. The meeting also agreed on advising the temple committees to deposit the temple gold and other jewellery in banks.

Another option of providing lockers to the temples for storing the valuables was also delved upon. The meeting further explored the possibility of insuring the temple property.

Furthermore, the meeting reviewed the thefts which had taken place in Goa during the last year. It was pointed out that nearly 33 per cent of these cases were solved by the police. The year 2010 witnessed 49 thefts in temples from North Goa, out of which 17 were unearthed while the district had thefts in two churches with one of them solved. The same period witnessed 15 thefts in temples from South Goa out of which five were unearthed, while the district had thefts in six churches with one of them solved.

Incidentally, temple committee members of Shri Shantadurga Kitolkarin temple, Fatorpa, had also requested the state government to post home guards as security personnel in those temples which cannot afford to engage private security guards. The temple was recently robbed of valuables worth several lakhs of rupees. A suggestion was made to the temple committee members that the village panchayats should establish vigilance committees in their respective areas for more effective security and village youths could be trained by the government for the purpose.