Himachal truckers call Hindenburg report on Adani a 'godsend', Nathan Anderson replies with 'love' on Twitter

The 67-day stalemate between the two Adani Group-owned cement plants in Himachal Pradesh and truckers' unions over freight charges came to a close on Monday with the two sides agreeing on a new rate.

Around 7,000 truckers had been protesting against Adani’s decision to shut two cement plants saying they were “unviable” at the trucking rates, and that it wanted to slash it by around half.

On Monday, the Gautam Adani-led group said it had "amicably resolved" the issue with a 10-12% reduction in rates.

The settlement comes four weeks after U.S.-based Hindenburg Research accused Adani of stock manipulation and improper use of tax havens. As such, the truckers have called the Hindenburg report a 'godsend.'

The cement plants at Barmana (Bilaspur district) and Darlaghat (Solan district) had closed operations on December 14 due to the dispute between the company and truckers

Reacting to it, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has said, "We have arrived at consensus, thereby protecting the interests of both the truck-operator unions and the management."

"While the truckers’ settlement will have only a small impact on the overall Adani empire, it was a big win for the drivers and owners in a state were most people live on around $7 a day," a Reuters report says.

The report “played a crucial role in our battle against the India’s biggest business group, helped mobilize truckers and gain political support,” said Ram Krishan Sharma, one of the lead negotiators for protesting truckers.

Adani's move to resolve the 67-day dispute, following the publication of Hindenburg report, in a Congress-ruled state is intended to counter the allegations of the conglomerate's proximity to the BJP government in the centre, reported Free Press Journal.