Image used for representation
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Farmers clashed with the police during their protest against the construction of an ethanol factory at Tibbi in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district on Wednesday (December 10, 2025), leaving several persons injured. Police resorted to lathi charge and lobbed teargas shells to disperse the farmers at a ‘Mahapanchayat’ near the factory premises.
The agitating farmers entered the factory compound and ransacked the building materials used for construction. The crowd, which turned restive after the lathicharge, torched about 10 vehicles and damaged three bulldozers.
Those injured included Congress MLA from Sangaria and State Youth Congress president, Abhimanyu Poonia. He was referred to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial District Hospital in Hanumangarh for diagnostic tests after the primary medical aid given at the venue of protest.
The ‘Mahapanchayat’ was held against the ethanol plant being set up at a cost of ₹450 crore by a private company in Rathikhera village panchayat near Tibbi. Farmers have been opposing the factory’s construction for more than a year with the contention that it would lead to air pollution and water toxicity in the region.
Sriganganagar MP Kuldeep Indora, former Bhadra MLA Balwan Poonia, CPI(M) leader Mangej Choudhary and several leaders of farmers’ groups in Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar districts as well as from neighbouring Punjab participated in the ‘Mahapanchayat’. The administration has imposed prohibitory orders in the Tibbi area since November 18.
The clash occurred when the farmers marched towards the under-construction factory and broke its wall. The police action to disperse the protesters created chaos and left several persons injured. The markets in Tibbi were closed and Internet services were shut down.
The farmer leaders have claimed that the factory would pollute the environment and render the land barren. This will create a livelihood crisis for the local farmers, according to the leaders, who have demanded the plant’s shifting to a different location.
Veteran Congress leader and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot condemned the use of force by the police during the farmers’ agitation. “The Congress will continue to raise the farmers’ voice fearlessly,” Mr. Gehlot said in a post on X, while asking the Bharatiya Janata Party government why it harboured “hatred towards farmers”.
Published – December 11, 2025 04:00 am IST
