Solidarity rallies in Itanagar and heightened security in protest-hit districts highlight growing opposition to the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project over concerns about indigenous rights, displacement and environmental impact.

Guwahati: Amid reports of an ongoing stand-off between the Indian Army and China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) near Asaphila in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Subansiri district, citizens, youth groups and student organisations gathered in Itanagar on Thursday for a mass solidarity rally in support of the Adi community and protesters in the Siang Valley opposing the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), a mega hydropower scheme with a capacity of around 11,000–12,500 MW.

Organised by Youth for Change, Arunachal Pradesh, in collaboration with other groups, including the Cockroach Janta Party (Arunachal Unit), the demonstration began at Akashdeep Complex and proceeded to IG Park under the theme “One Arunachal. One People. One Voice.” Participants raised slogans such as “No PFR, No Dam” and “Protect Our Land, Save the Siang,” highlighting concerns over displacement, loss of ancestral land, livelihoods, culture and the environment.

The rally was held amid intensifying resistance in Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang districts to pre-feasibility report (PFR) surveys and related activities for the project being pursued by NHPC. Local organisations, led by the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum (SIFF), Adi Bane Kebang-United (ABK-U), the SUMP Affected Area Youth Association and others, alleged that a large reservoir could submerge or affect around 27 villages, fertile paddy fields, jhum lands and culturally significant sites, potentially impacting 1–1.5 lakh indigenous people. The Adi community regards the Siang River, known as Ane or “mother”, as central to its identity, agriculture and spiritual life.

Protests have escalated in recent weeks following the deployment of security forces to facilitate surveys. On October 23, a 12-hour bandh across the districts was followed by violence in Pasighat, where an NHPC office, a police station and several police vehicles were set on fire, and the residences of political leaders were vandalised. Around 40 security personnel were injured. Police have arrested dozens of people, including activists, while some detainees have reportedly gone on hunger strike. Additional Rapid Action Force personnel have been deployed.

Thursday’s gathering in the state capital underscored the widening support for the Siang movement beyond the affected valleys, as organisers called for the protection of indigenous rights and a halt to the mega-dam plans.

Meanwhile, security forces have heavily fortified the bridge, deploying large numbers of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel, as it has become a focal point of the anti-dam movement, with dharnas and protests being held against the proposed survey.

Security sources said that 30 companies of CAPF personnel had been deployed across the protest-hit districts. Three companies of the Assam Police Battalion were stationed in Pasighat.

Also known as the 65 Bridge, the Dite-Dime bridge is a critical bottleneck on the Dite-Dime-Migging highway towards Tuting, near the Line of Actual Control. At least four women were wounded in a clash at Dite-Dime on October 23 during a 12-hour bandh. More than 150 supporters allegedly threw stones at security personnel, tried to breach barricades and damaged security vehicles, police sources said.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has condemned the violence, invited stakeholders for dialogue and stated that the project would proceed only with public consent, while emphasising its strategic importance in the context of China's upstream plans on the Yarlung Tsangpo.Opposing groups are pressing for the immediate scrapping of the SUMP proposal, cancellation of PFR-related agreements, withdrawal of excess security forces and the release of detained protesters, with some refusing to participate in talks until those conditions are met.


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