KARACHI: The officials of Pakistan Customs and the visiting importers, customs clearing agents, media are facing serious problems due to non-functioning of lifts installed at the Customs House-Karachi since the last couple of months, Customs Today learnt.
There are a total of five lifts, three at the main entrance hall of the Customs House while the remaining two are being used to lift chief collectors, collectors, deputy collectors and the assistant collectors etc.
The two out of total three lifts, meant to provide facility to importers and clearing agents are out of orders for the last more than four months. Interestingly, a single lift is being used to carry customs officers.
The Customs House-Karachi has some 12 floors and different officers, directorates and collectorates are working there. And, it is very difficult for anyone to climb up ten to twelve floors.
The insiders told Customs Today that all the lifts at Customs House had been given to the private contractor who never bothered to ensure proper functioning of all the lift.
“The lift operators are not well educated and they can be often heard by using abusive and immoral languages on the cellular phones”, the officials added.
An importer, Waleed, told Customs Today that climbing up to different floors in the afternoon time adds further. The people have to appear before the DCs and ACs and the climbing up of floors brings sweet and smell, irritating people.
“We have time and again brought this to the notice of senior administration however no heed is so far paid to the operational of the lift.
Usually, the lift operator just takes four to five persons while we have to wait for sometimes 20 to 30 minutes for our turn”, a clearing agent Noor Abro told Customs Today.
