PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday announced that the Director of NRI Affairs and Tourism Secretary are looking to facilitate the safe return of Goan seafarers even as he said moves were afoot to identify paid quarantine centers in the State to accommodate the seafarers following their return.
“Director of NRI Affairs nodal officer for seafarers corresponds daily with the nodal officer of the central team. He has begun to identify paid quarantine centers along with the tourism secretary. Tourism secretary is speaking with hotels and hostels. We have begun to communicate with hotels, if seafarers don’t wish to stay in government quarantine centers,” Sawant said.
The state authorities are also in talks with the nodal officers of the regions where these seafarers are presently located so as to understand the protocol involved in repatriating them.
“We will take a decision once the Ministry of External Affairs takes a call on the matter. We have been requesting the Centre continuously about bringing back seafarers from Mumbai. But it is not the decision of the State government,” he said.
