Goa's reputation as a place of total peace took a knock in 2006 as the state saw unprecedented communal violence and came under the shadow of terror attack threats. Alleged threats by Lashkar-e-Toiba and al-Qaeda militant outfits to strike coupled with the arrest of a terrorist in the state carrying explosives heightened the security scare.
But the communal violence came as the most shocking incident.
Sanvordem and Curchorem, twin-towns, witnessed communal violence and tension for almost three days beginning from March three. The divide was clear -- minority versus majority.
What sparked the violence was a tiny structure illegally constructed on a piece of land at Guddemol locality adjacent to Sanvordem town and used as a madrassa. A few people razed the structure which fuelled tension.
The morcha protesting the demolition turned violent. It was begining of the three-day clashes that charred down property worth crores. Houses, shops, vehicles and police station were attacked in the rioting.
It was a rude shock for the Goans who had till then just heard or read about communal violence.
Goans were about to put back sad memories of Sanvordem-Curchorem incident when a Kashmiri militant was arrested at margao in south Goa. Armed with explosives, police said, he had aimed to target vital installations in the state.
Mid of this year, Goa got intelligence inputs saying the state is on terrorist's target.
For last two months, general security alerts have become order of the day in the state which has received a large number of tourists. the security at the airport, vital installations like oil terminals, railway stations, bus stands, and the state secretariat remain tight.
For the international film festival of India, walking through metal detector and getting frisked became routine.
Police say the security will remain tight till the tourist season continues.
