By Rupesh Samant

Panaji, Apr 18: As the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is expected to work out a plan to bring back the Indian workers stranded on different ships abroad and in the country, Goa government has begun scouting for the accommodation facilities to quarantine the Goans who will be repatriated along with them.

State Executive Committee formed to work out solutions during the COVID-19 crisis has decided to identify hotels/hostels apart from identifying availability of similar rooms with religious institutions for setting up of Quarantine facility for the Goans who are working on different ships.

During the meeting, both the district collectors were directed to start inspection of the Hotels, which were earlier identified by State Tourism department and to identify availability of similar rooms with religious organisations such as Churches, Temples, etc. to assess their number and suitability to be used as paid Quarantine Facilities for the seafarers.

“Secretary, Education was also asked to prepare a list of suitable hostel facilities available with the Educational Institutions in Goa, which can be used for Quarantine purposes for the Goans who are working on the ships,” a senior official said.

As per the state government data, there are around 7,000-10,000 Goans who are working on different ships within and outside the country.