Traders from various districts of the state of Maharashtra on Monday agreed to call off their strike against the Local Body Tax (LBT) following a meeting with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.

Traders had been agitating against the implementation of LBT for more than three weeks, causing panic buying of essential items by consumers.

The government used measures like the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) and the APMC Act to ensure the supply of essential items like sugar, but traders agreed to call off the strike only after a meeting with the CM on Monday.

An official spokesperson confirmed yesterday, "Traders in Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Navi Mumbai and Thane have announced that they are calling off the stir, following discussions with the CM."

As per sources, the strike was called off only after the state government agreed to some of the traders' demands.

The spokesperson also said that traders agreed to call off the strike after Mr. Chavan assured them that the government would make necessary amendments in provisions, such as registration limit.

The government has levied the account-based LBT, which replaces octroi, in twenty five of the twenty six municipal corporations of the state.