Already, the strike has led to the closure of 700 small industrial units because of the disruption in raw material supply and accumulation of finished goods.

There are around 5,000 factories in Kanpur, situated in the industrial areas of Panki, Dada Nagar, Fazaganj and Ruma. Together, they transact business worth Rs 100 crore per day. At present, the production is down by 60 per cent. In particular, production in textiles, soap, steel, plastic goods, pan masala and engineering industries has been hit hard.

Divisional Chairman of the Provincial Industries Association, Micky Manchanda, said: “If the strike continues for another two days, over 1,500 factory owners will be compelled to stop production.” Owner of a leading detergent manufacturing unit, Manchanda said the strike has delayed the arrival of the components needed for manufacturing soaps and detergents. Therefore, production has come to a complete halt.

President of the Indian Industries Association (IIA), Sunil Vaishya, said: “From Tuesday, work in nearly 50 per cent of the factories will come to a standstill.”

According to an industrialist, while unsold stocks were accumulating, their suppliers were demanding payment. “Besides, we have to pay a salary to the staff and meet overhead expenses,” he added.

The transporters, however, were adamant about continuing with their strike. Senior vice-president of the Uttar Pradesh Truck Operators Federation, Ravi Gupta, said: “Our demands are genuine. With the rate of crude oil going down in the international market, the Union government should have no problem in lowering the price of diesel by Rs 10 per litre.”