KARACHI: All the seven industrial estates in Kar achi and the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) have urged the Supreme Court to take a suo motu notice over the issue of transporters` strike, which entered its ninth day on Tuesday.

The strike has caused a loss of around Rs214 billion since it started on May 8, they said. The intercity goods carriers went on strike to protest a roundthe-clock ban imposed by the Sindh High Court on the movement of heavy vehicles in Karachi.

Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday, the leaders of these industrial estates criticised the government`s `indifference` to the issue `which has made the economy dysfunctional`.

Leading exporter Mohammad Jawed Bilwani said that 900 industries facing bankruptcies have already handed over their keys to their representative bodies.

The situation was likely to worsen if the issue was not resolved soon, he said.

The stakeholders said the country`s economy was suffering a daily loss of around Rs6.3bn in terms of exports and Rs17.4bn in imports.

This translates into an overall loss of Rs214bn during the nine days.

The regular route taken by the goods` carriers is 35-kilometre long and goes through Mai Kolachi, Punjab Chowrangi to Sunset Boulevard and to Korangi, Landhi and Port Qasim industrial areas.

The transporters have rejected an alternative route involving Northern Bypass.

They argue that this new route is not only more than 160km long but is also unsafe.

Moreover, supplying goods to the industrial areas in Azizabad, Usmanabad, Federal B. Area and North Karachi was not possible under the SHC ban, they said.

They said the ban has affected supplies of raw material to factories and the ports are running out of space.

Employers` Federation of Pakistan President Ismail Suttar said the federation was taking up the issue before the Supreme Court on Wednesday (today).

Meanwhile, the LCCI has also urged the Supreme Court to intervene. Its acting president, Amjad Ali Jawa, told a press conference on Tuesday that short supply of essential items and edibles due to the strike could result in a food crisis.

Moreover, the strike would reverse the government`s efforts to boost exports and revive the economy, he said.

The Pakistan Textile Exporters Association has also expressed concerns over the crisis due to the strike. Its chairman Ajmal Farooq said foreign orders could be cancelled.