Protests against the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) in Arunachal Pradesh have turned violent after more than a year of peaceful demonstrations. On October 4, protesters resisting the project  were allegedly lathi charged by police and paramilitary forces in Uggeng village. The police action comes days after protesters attacked an MLA’s house and allegedly set vehicles on fire during a scheduled visit to the region by Chief Minister Pema Khandu.

Residents of the Siang and Upper Siang districts have consistently opposed the 11,000 megawatt dam project and blocked all efforts to carry out a Pre-Feasibility Report study (PFR) to determine its viability. Khandu planned to meet with residents of the area reportedly to have a dialogue about the project, and persuade them to allow feasibility studies to be carried out in the area.

“People don’t want the PFR to take place because they don’t want the dam at all,” said Christina Pangam, a resident of Yingkiong and a local news reporter.

Protests intensified on September 14 when the state government deployed hundreds of police and paramilitary forces to the villages of Uggeng and Komkar — among the three proposed sites of the dam. Residents blocked roads into the area to prevent the PFR from taking place.

“There has been a lot of misinformation that has been creating anxiety about the PFR going through,” said Pangam. In June, Khandu said the government had obtained support to carry out the PFR from 110 families after signing a memorandum with them. According to Pangam, the strong resistance to the paramilitary forces and PFR exercise demonstrates the extent to which residents oppose the project. “The MoU is not representative of the majority,” she said.

The Adi Bane Kelang United, an organisation representing the rights of the indigenous Adi people, called for the immediate withdrawal of the paramilitary forces on both September 16 and 22, saying it was “unnecessary and uncalled for,” and that it “created a fear psychosis in the minds of innocent and peace loving Adi people.” It also called for the MoU to be cancelled, and the SUMP project to be cancelled.

The state government has stated on social media that the project will help regulate floods while “countering” the impacts of the 60,000 MW Chinese Medog dam planned upstream of the Siang. Both dams fall in a high seismic activity zone that sees frequent earthquakes and landslides.

Dekio Gumja, Upper Siang’s Superintendent of Police, declined to comment on the lathi charge and violence in the district when reached.

Crackdown on activists and local media

The intensifying protests in the Siang and Upper Siang districts have been accompanied by a crackdown on activists opposing the project. On August 20, Bhanu Tatak, legal advisor to the Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum (SIFF), was served a notice by the Central Bureau of Investigation, alleging she had violated the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.

The First Information Report alleged she received ₹17.6 lakh (₹1.7 million) in foreign contributions without obtaining registration or prior permission under the FCRA. According to news reports, the FIR alleged “Such foreign funds are being utilised to organise and sustain anti-dam protests in Arunachal Pradesh against the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) and Dibang Multipurpose Hydropower Project, thereby adversely affecting economic and strategic interests of the country.”

The SIFF has been instrumental in consolidating opposition to the project while leading negotiations with the state government. On September 16, the SIFF Youth Wing put out a statement condemning the case, calling it “harassment.”

“The timing and nature of this case registration appear deliberately designed to create disunity, sow doubts, and weaken the solidarity among SIFF members and the wider community,” the statement read.

Between September 19 and 22 , the Arunachal Pradesh police issued summons to at least three protesters associated with the SIFF under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984. “We were advised by the police to stop our protests against the dam,” Dubit Siram, secretary of the SIFF Youth Wing, who was served a notice, told Mongabay-India.

In July 2024, two more activists, Ebo Mili and Dungge Apang were detained by the state police when then Union Power Minister M.L. Khattar visited the state. Mili and Apang planned to submit a memorandum to Khattar demanding a moratorium on large dam projects in the state.

As of October 5, news and broadcasts emerging from the protest sites have been blocked. The social media pages of websites like Upper Siang News 24×7 say they are temporarily restricted “pursuant to legal requirements under India’s Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules.”

“Why should we accept this risk?”

The SUMP is being dubbed a “national project” that can moderate the impacts of the Chinese Medog dam upstream of the river. However, the impacts of the Medog dam on the water flows of the Siang, which turns into the Brahmaputra downstream, are uncertain.

“They’re claiming water bombs will be released from China. That can only happen from the dam breaking, an earthquake, from a war missile, or the cement concrete eroding after 100 years. Won’t it cause double the damage if we build an 11,000 Megawatt dam of our own?” said Thomas Borang, president of the Adi Bane Kelang United. “Why should we accept this risk?”

Chief Minister Khandu has told the press that the dam will only be built after all studies are completed — including the Pre-Feasibility Report. “If the project is found technically feasible after the PFR, the subsequent stages would include Social Impact Assessment (SIA), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) in accordance with the applicable laws and procedures,” he said.

Banner image: Security forces in Geku village on September 23. Image by special arrangement.

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Kundan Pandey Editor

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ActivismDamsHydroelectric powerRiversArunachal Pradesh

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