High tension in Hanumangarh as farmers call Mahapanchayat against ethanol plant, internet suspended

Fearing any untoward incident, the administration has also requisitioned additional police forces from neighbouring districts.Despite the deadlock, farmer leaders maintain that the project poses a serious environmental threat. A Mahapanchayat held on December 10 discussed the future course of the agitation. When farmers later attempted to march towards the factory site, they were stopped by the police, leading to a tense standoff.Meanwhile, Ganganagar–Hanumangarh MP Kuldeep Indora, along with other MPs from Rajasthan, met Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav to apprise him of the farmers’ concerns regarding the project.The District Collector reiterated that permission to bring tractors for the Mahapanchayat could not be granted, citing their alleged misuse during earlier incidents in Tibbi.Dune Ethanol Private Limited, a Chandigarh-based company, is setting up a 40-megawatt grain-based ethanol plant in Rathi Kheda. The company has said the project is aligned with the Centre’s Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme.Protests against the plant have been ongoing for over a year. A largely peaceful agitation continued for nearly 10 months, from September 2024 to June 2025, but intensified in July 2025 after the company began constructing a boundary wall at the site.On November 19, 2025, construction resumed under police protection, triggering fresh anger among farmers. More than 12 farmer leaders, including Mehanga Singh, were arrested, while 67 people surrendered before the police on November 20 and 21.On December 10, farmers held a large protest outside the Tibbi Sub-Divisional Magistrate’s office. Later in the afternoon, hundreds of farmers reached the factory site with tractors, where the boundary wall was damaged and clashes broke out with the police. To disperse the crowd, police used tear gas and later resorted to a lathi charge.Congress MLA from Sangaria, Abhimanyu Poonia, who had joined the protest in support of the farmers, was injured in the baton charge and was later admitted to Hanumangarh District Hospital.



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