Protests against the under-construction ethanol plant in Hanumangarh, Rajasthan, intensified on Friday (December12) as demonstrations entered their fourth consecutive day, even after a heavy police lathicharge.
 
The district has remained tense, with internet services suspended following clashes between residents and security forces. Police have so far detained 107 people linked to the unrest. The CPI(M) has sharply criticised the police action, calling it excessive and unjustified.

Mangej Choudhary, district general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), announced that farmers would surround the district collectorate on December 17 in response to the crackdown. He alleged that the police assault was so severe that “the police's weapons have rusted, otherwise they would have killed many people.”

The CPI(M) Rajasthan State Committee issued a strong statement on social media, saying, "CPIM Rajasthan strongly condemns the barbaric lathicharge on farmers protesting against Asia's largest ethanol factory in Rathi Kheda, Tibbi."

According to the party, the confrontation peaked on Wednesday, December 10, when police allegedly resorted to a brutal baton charge on farmers opposing the construction of what is being touted as Asia’s largest ethanol plant.

The clash left around 50 farmers seriously injured, including AIKS and CPI(M) leader Mangej Choudhary and Congress MLA Abhimanyu Poonia, who were at the forefront of the agitation.

Farmers, frustrated after several rounds of failed negotiations with the administration, reportedly broke down parts of the factory boundary wall. Police responded with heavy lathicharge and fired tear gas shells. News agency reports suggest that enraged protesters set fire to at least 14 vehicles and damaged property in the area.

Leaders of the Ethanol Factory Removal Movement Association said the agitation has remained peaceful for the past sixteen months, but administrative attempts to suppress it have provoked public anger. With internet suspended and police deployment increasing, movement leader Ravjot Singh declared that the struggle would continue until the factory project is scrapped.

Local farmers have accused authorities of declaring fertile agricultural land as barren to facilitate acquisition. They fear that more than 70 bighas of surrounding land will be rendered unproductive due to pollution from the plant.

Protest leaders have also warned that the proposed unit would require massive quantities of clean water, claiming, “it takes 3 to 10 thousand liters of drinking water to produce one liter of ethanol,” and estimating that the factory will need six million liters every day, posing a grave threat to the area’s water sources, soil, and ecology.

The protesters are expected to resume discussions today. After Wednesday’s confrontation, many have taken refuge at the Tibbi Gurudwara, where the protest committee continues to hold meetings to plan the next steps.

Congress leaders across Rajasthan also criticised the government’s handling of the situation. Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot wrote on X, “Why does the BJP government hate farmers so much? Congress will continue to raise their voice.” 

Leader of the Opposition Tikaram Jully condemned the crackdown as “unfortunate and unacceptable”, asserting that MLA Poonia was standing up for the rights of farmers and that the incident had “exposed the anti-farmer face of the government.”

Former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot also expressed solidarity with the agitators, saying, “We will continue to stand with farmers in their fight for justice.”