Lorry stir: biz, industries suffer Rs 4,000-crore loss

The fourth day of the indefinite strike by lorry owners did not pull all the vehicles off the road but the state commerce and industry body feared a loss of Rs 4,000 crore and urged immediate intervention of the government.

Officials in the Transport department said the border check-posts have seen a drop in the number of vehicles. There is a decrease of 90% of transport vehicles, especially trucks, from Tamil Nadu and more than 50% of the vehicles from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regions, an official said.

“The control room set up by the department has not received any complaint regarding disruption in the supply of essential commodities,” officials added. Reports said lorries from Kerala region have not entered the state near Mysuru over the last two days while those from Mumbai and Delhi have stopped at Hubballi and Belagavi.

“The rise in petrol and diesel price will have a cascading effect of price rise on all industrial inputs and thereby the cost of finished products. The industry is already suffering due to credit crunch...Though the effects are not felt now, the loss due to this strike could be to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore per day,” the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry said in a release.

Fuel supply unaffected

While the strike entered the fourth day, leading to fears of rise in prices of vegetables, eggs and other products, petroleum dealers sought to reassure the public that fuel prices are unlikely to be affected.

Sanaulla Anees, vice president of Karnataka State Federation of Petroleum Dealers, noted that petrol and diesel are supplied to storage units across the country through railways. “Road transport is relied upon only to carry fuel from storage units to petrol pumps. Since fuel comes under essential commodities list, respective state administrations are taking steps to ensure that the supply is not hit,” he said.