KARACHI, Dec 1: Loss in revenue to the country due to on-going violence in the city could be judged form the fact that there was a steep fall in revenue collection at the Customs on Monday.

According to official figures, normally the Karachi customs collects around Rs50 to 55 crores daily in duty and taxes, along with documents of goods declaration (GD). However, on Monday the collection, along with the goods declaration, dropped to Rs32 crores which indicates that there was less activity at the customs owing to shortage of staff and less turnout of importers and clearing agents.

The city remained paralysed partly because of non-availability of public transport or owing to fear which gripped the city following Saturday’s killings and incidents of arson and torching of vehicles.

However, activity at the ports somewhat remained normal where ships sailed out after unloading import cargo or loading export consignments. This is mainly because large-scale consignments reach port areas in advance.

In case the violence is not contained at the earliest, the flow of cargo to ports from the upcountry and within the city would be affected. Similarly, imported cargo would accumulate inside the port area.

According to official figures, four vessels arrived at the Karachi Port and three left while six ships are anchored at the off-port.