Siang Dam Protests: Centre Flies 250 RAF Personnel to Pasighat

The Union Home Ministry has flown two companies of the CRPF’s Rapid Action Force, around 250 personnel, from Navi Mumbai to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh’s East Siang district after protests against the proposed 11,200 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) turned violent on the night of 23 October, officials told PTI. A 12-hour bandh across Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang ended in clashes in which an NHPC office was set on fire and part of the Pasighat police station was damaged. Inspector-General of Police Hibu Tamang said on 24 October that at least three FIRs had been registered and 15 people arrested or detained.

Highway Blocked, Homes of Three Leaders Attacked

Police said 200 to 300 people threw stones at personnel and a magistrate between 5 pm and 6:30 pm on Friday after refusing to clear the Pasighat–Boleng highway, and tear gas was fired. Protesters say explosions came before the stones. At least nine police vehicles were damaged or burnt, and the homes of BJP state president Kaling Moyong and MLAs Ninong Ering and Oni Panyang were attacked, Down To Earth reported. The Chief Minister’s Office said the violence went on until 3:30 am on Saturday. Two anti-dam activists surrendered at Pasighat police station that afternoon.

A Survey the State Calls Only a First Step

The dispute is over the pre-feasibility report (PFR), the geological and hydrological survey that decides whether the dam can be built. Chief Minister Pema Khandu said on 3 October that if experts found the project unfeasible, nothing further would happen, and invited the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum for talks. The state presents SUMP as India’s answer to China’s planned 60,000 MW Medog project upstream on the Yarlung Tsangpo, the river that becomes the Siang. The Adi community groups opposing it fear the loss of ancestral land and villages in an earthquake-prone valley. Arrests of activists began on 9 October; four were held under the Arunachal Pradesh Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2014. China’s actions on the frontier are covered in our report on India-China face-offs in Arunachal.

Protesters Want Surveys Halted, Activists Freed

Khandu called the Pasighat incidents “regrettable” and met legislators and the Arunachal Indigenous Tribes Forum on Sunday. “Our priority is to protect national interests while respecting the rights and aspirations of the people of Siang Valley,” he said. Youth activist Otul Jerang said the violence was “completely contrary to our movement’s ideology and objectives”. Opponents want survey work stopped and detainees released before any further step. The government has not said whether the survey will pause, or when it is due to be completed.

Source: Based on reporting by Down To Earth, PTI / National Herald, India Today NE, Ukhrul Times and PTI / ThePrint.

Image: Down To Earth.