SKM slams Rajasthan govt action on farmers protesting against ethanol plant
Sanyukt Kisan Morcha condemned Rajasthan government action against farmers protesting an ethanol plant at Tibbi, Hanumangarh. SKM warned against suppressing democratic protests, citing concerns over groundwater depletion, waste generation and diversion of fertile two-crop land, as the proposed plant would consume 10–17 litres of water per litre of ethanol.
Bathinda: Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, a conglomerate of farm organisations, has denounced the Rajasthan govt action against farmers at Tibbi in Hanumangarh district on Dec 10. The peasants were protesting the setting up of an ethanol plant on rich two-crop land. Tibbi witnessed large-scale violence on Dec 10 as over 5,000 peasants assembled to hold a mahapanchayat. On Friday, SKM warned the BJP-led state and central govts against the “suppression of democratic protests” of the people.
“The land was purchased from a few farmers in 2020, and the setting up of the industry to provide local employment was propagated. Brewing ethanol from food grain involves massive amounts of groundwater for mashing and fermenting. For each litre of ethanol, about 10 to 17 litres of water is required. The plant capacity is 1,320,000 litres per day, meaning the factory has to draw 10 to 17 times the amount of groundwater. The separation of pure ethanol leaves a major portion as waste with harmful intermediaries.
Ethanol plants push the waste into underground wells as there is no other cheap disposal. This happened in Zira in Punjab, where recently the plant was closed down by peasant protests,” stated the SKM.
SKM has demanded the state govt immediately release all the farmers, provide compensation to all injured, and hold discussions with the action committee to resolve all the burning demands of the farmers.
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Source : Times Of India
