Dhanbad, Feb. 9: More than 1,200 Mada employees called off their six-day-old strike today after state urban development commissioner Nitin Kulkarni ordered Dhanbad Municipal Corporation to release Rs 1.5 crore as pending salary dues.

The civic body employees, who had been on strike since Monday to demand pending salaries and promotions, were promised 18 months of their pending salaries by the administration today after meeting following which they decided to call off their agitation.

The Mada representatives ' S.N. Dubey and Visheswar Mahto, among others, who met deputy commissioner Prashant Kumar and Kulkarni ' were also promised a committee, which would look into its other demands within three months.

Speaking to The Telegraph, development commissioner Kulkarni said the workers would be compensated with 18 months of their salaries immediately with a committee looking into their other major demands including the terms of merger of the civic body with that of Dhanbad Municipal Corporation.

"We have asked the Mada employees to wait for the reports of the committee. The committee is likely to suggest how and under what conditions will the Mada employees be absorbed as municipal corporation staffs. The employees have agreed and decided to watch for three months now," Kulkarni said.

Earlier in the day, more than 40 workers of the civic body were taken into custody as they staged a Jail Bharo Andolan.

They were all released later in the afternoon.