PNSC office work still in disorder after February fire

Office work in Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) has remained in disorder after the February 18 fire which destroyed the structure of four upper floors of the 15-story building and displaced hundreds of the staffers.
Although five months have passed since the tragedy occurred, routine work still remains topsy-turvy, as the several offices have not yet been re-arranged to their original position.
During a visit to the offices of the national flag carrier, located on Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan Road, on Friday, it was noticed that there was discontentment among the staff over the long delay in the repair process on the damaged floors.
"Everything is in a complete mess, and the fire has even left us with no proper place to sit", said a staff member. "The management plans to complete the renovation work by the holy month of Ramazan, but I do not think it would materialise", he said.
"Officers of different ranks used to have separate rooms but now all have been dumped in a single room", said another employee in the PNSC headquarters. The once luxurious offices of Planning and Protocol/Public Relations Departments on the 11th floor have been shifted to small makeshift cabins on the First floor with insufficient furniture, and room for even the staff members.
"We are here for almost last five months facing mental and physical torture", said an official on the First floor, adding that "others have generously accommodated us but we feel bad for causing discomfort to them".
The officials on management side, however, said that the Corporation had invited tenders from private companies, as per requirement, after completing cleaning of the affected floors. "This is a lengthy process, and not an easy job. This renovation work is likely to take at least six more months to complete", said an official.
When asked if there was any setback in the Corporation's performance caused by the fire, the official said: "No, not at all. The fire has caused no pause in our work, in the shipping sphere, and PNSC has been working uninterruptedly in the aftermath of the fire".
The 11th floor housed PNSC's Afloat and Shore personnel, Estate, Public Relations, Protocol and Administration departments while one portion had accommodated some of the offices of National Engineering Services of Pakistan (Nespak).
The 12th floor accommodated Finance and Accounts, Insurance and Claims, Computer departments. The 14th floor had housed PNSC management, PNSC's board directors, chairman and minister office and library. The 15th floor had accommodated offices of Mega Group of Companies; PNSC's Share, Legal, Provident Fund departments, including boardroom and secretariat.