Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has praised the role played by Customs department in hassle-free export of Hydroxy Chloroquine drug and other essential medicines to more than 150 countries during the peak of the pandemic.
She also praised the customs department in ensuring vaccine transportation across the country and its export abroad. It deserved extra praise for the preparedness to detect the future threat of spurious vaccines. This will effectively prevent the threat of spurious vaccines in future, she said addressing the International Customs Day 2021 celebrations organised by Hyderabad Customs Commissionerate on Wednesday.
Commending the services of customs to help the country get vaccinated and prevent spurious vaccines, the Governor said she had cancelled her prior engagements in Chennai to be present on the occasion to appreciate the services of departmental officers as frontline warriors. “I always give top priority to honour COVID-19 warriors, to be there and to be with them, and here I am with you all to honour you as you were all at the forefront”.
Referring to the department’s expertise in detecting and preventing gold smuggling, the Governor said the officers were getting even smarter and changing strategies like a virus that underwent mutations and came up with new strains to outshine the smugglers who were adopting weird methods to smuggle gold.
“The smugglers are weirdly concealing the gold in their body parts and you are getting innovative to call their bluff,” she said.
The Governor’s husband P. Soundararajan, Chief Commissioner of Indirect Taxes and Customs Malika Arya, Principal Commissioner J.S. Chandrahekar, Principal Chief Commissioner (IT) J.B. Mohapatra and Principal Commissioner (GST) D. Purushottam were present.
