Bengaluru: Truckers in south India called off their week-long strike while the plans for nation-wide strike from Saturday midnight were dropped after their main demand was accepted by India’s insurance regulator.

The breakthrough came during the talks between leaders of truckers’ associations and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) officials here on Saturday.

IRDA agreed to reduce the hike in third-party insurance premium rate from 50 percent to 27 percent.

During the two rounds of talks earlier, the regulatory authority had stuck to its stand of not reducing the hike.

The IRDAI also agreed to form a consultative committee for discussing transport-related issues, with representation from the two associations.

A press note issued by SZMTWA said that the discussion in Hyderabad with IRDAI officials lasted for more than six hours. General secretary of the association G R Shanmugappa, president Gopal Naidu and vice president Mukesh M Shah took part in the deliberation. The association thanked truckers and other associations for the success of their strike and the Central and state governments for their cooperation.