960404

DIG's assurance to tanners

Steps being taken to

curb snatching of

export consignments

MUZAFFAR QURESHI

KARACHI: The local administration has agreed to assign security personnel in Sector 7-A of Korangi and at the entrance to the Karachi Airport to stop incidents of hijacking of truckloads of export consignments.

The assurance of protection to export consignments and raw material for tanneries was given to the representatives of Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) by the DIG, Karachi.

The PTA members had complained that as many as 15 trucks loaded with leather garments and finished skin meant for export were hijacked near the Airport entrance in the last 8 to 9 months. They said that security personnel should be specially assigned at the entrance to the airport where the road had three speedbreakers. No sooner did a driver reduce the speed at the speedbreaker than armed bandits appeared from the blue and hijacked the truck. Similarly truckloads of skins and hides destined for the tanneries in Sector 7-A of Korangi had been repeatedly hijacked in Korangi.

The PTA representatives maintained that the leather industry had suffered losses in millions of rupees due to the activities of armed bandits in the two areas.

The SSP, Karachi East, who held a detailed meeting with the PTA people, assured them that the police would take necessary action to check the activities of the bandits. Policemen in plainclothes will be assigned near the venues of looting and hijacking of leather consignments.

The problem of extortion of bhatta in tanneries area of Korangi was also discussed at the meeting. The local administration advised the PTA members to immediately bring to the notice of the security agencies whenever a demand for bhatta was received, by them. The administration will take prompt action to arrest the extorters of bhatta.

The leather exporters are also suffering losses because of stealing of leather jackets from the export consignments at the airport. They have held several meetings with the Airport Security Force and other agencies working at the airport. The thefts, which generally occur in the winter season when there is increased export of leather garments, has not been resolved so far as no government agency is ready to assume the responsibility to check the stealing.