Calcutta, Aug. 26: Pressure is mounting on Mamata Banerjee, not from the small Nano but from 20,000 hulking trucks stranded on roads.

Mamata has refused to lift a blockade on the Durgapur Expressway that has held up the goods carriers, raising the spectre of a shortage of food, a spurt in prices and a counter-dharna by truckers.

The state has ruled out police action to clear the expressway, apparently hoping that the blockade will build public opinion against Mamata and the siege . The thinning crowd at the siege site has raised hopes in the government.

“Perishable goods have been wasted and vehicles carrying patients could not reach hospitals. Public life as well as the state economy are already in trouble because of this blockade,” CPM state secretary Biman Bose said this evening.

The trucks have been stuck on the roads since Sunday evening because supporters of the siege are squatting or sleeping on stretches of the Durgapur Expressway.

This afternoon, Hooghly district magistrate Neelam Meena went to the dharna site to request Mamata to let trucks move.

“Meena was kept waiting for three hours and then told by the leader of the Opposition, Partha Chatterjee, that the blockade would be on because of the state government’s denial of justice to Singur farmers,’’ Raj Kanojia, IG, law and order, said.

Home secretary Ashok Mohan Chakrabarti termed the situation “alarming”, saying “over 20,000 trucks carrying perishable items like vegetables, fruits and fish are unable to reach the city”.

The Federation of West Bengal Truck Operators’ Association has threatened to launch a dharna if the expressway is not cleared in a day or two.

“Nearly 80,000 drivers and cleaners in 20,000 trucks have been spending sleepless nights without food and water on the road since August 24. We will incur a loss of Rs 200 crore as goods in the trucks have already perished,” Satyajit Majumdar, the association secretary, said after meeting transport minister Subhas Chakraborty. Majumdar said a delegation would try to meet Mamata tomorrow in a last-ditch attempt.

The transport minister said he had spoken to Trinamul youth leader Madan Mitra. “The situation will turn for the worse if truck operators launch a movement. We are still hopeful that something positive will emerge to resolve the impasse,” he added.

The Calcutta Goods Transport Association said it would also meet the Trinamul leadership.

“We will request the leadership to open at least one lane of the expressway,” said Raja Roy, the general secretary of the association.

Another automobile company has felt the impact of the Singur siege. Officials of Hindustan Motors at Uttarpara have decided to keep two units closed tomorrow because trucks carrying machine parts from north India are stranded in Durgapur and Asansol.

“We need 2,800 machine parts to manufacture a car. Many trucks carrying these machine parts are held up in Durgapur and Asansol areas. We will keep two of our business units closed tomorrow. We hope the Durgapur Expressway will be open to traffic soon,” said Moloy Chowdhury, the vice-president of Hindustan Motors.