Ludhiana, Dec. 1 -- Nearly 144 buses remained off the roads on Sunday following the strike by workers of the Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC Contract Workers' Union, who refused to join duty for the third consecutive day, leaving commuters frustrated and stranded.

However later in the evening, union workers agreed to call off the strike following assurances from transport minister Laljit Singh Bhullar that all detained and jailed union leaders would be released and the termination order of the workers would be reinstated.

The strike intensified after the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) terminated 34 contractual staff members at the Ludhiana bus depot on Saturday. The dismissals included 19 outsourced conductors and drivers, alo...