Guwahati: Indigenous communities in Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang Valley have raised fresh concerns over the proposed 11,500 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), alleging police excesses, arrests of protesters and restrictions on residents’ movement amid growing opposition to the mega hydropower project.
At an online press conference organised by Youth for Himalaya on Monday, representatives of the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum (SIFF) alleged that local communities were being subjected to pressure for opposing the proposed hydropower project, while demanding the release of arrested activists and withdrawal of cases filed against members of the movement.
The press conference was attended by Tagori Mize, spokesperson of SIFF, and Dubit Siram, general secretary of the forum’s youth wing. Journalist and researcher Tongam Rina, deputy editor of Arunachal Times, also sent a statement expressing concern over the situation.
The developments follow the October 23 protests in the area, during which allegations of police brutality and arrests of activists brought the movement against the proposed dam into sharper focus.
Speaking at the press conference, Mize alleged that affected communities and individual landowners had not been adequately informed or consulted about the proposed project. He also questioned the process through which consent was allegedly being obtained from residents.
He claimed that signatures were being collected by misleading people and alleged that there was no credible information available to address the concerns of the affected communities.
Despite several meetings with government representatives, Mize said, the authorities had failed to make meaningful efforts to address the apprehensions of local residents.
Questioning the repeated invocation of national security in connection with the project, Mize said the people of the region should not be treated as outsiders.
“Our forefathers protected this land against the British. We are proud Indians, yet we are being treated as though we do not belong to this country,” he said.
Siram, meanwhile, alleged discriminatory treatment of people opposing the project and claimed that government officials and representatives of the company were not being subjected to the same legal scrutiny as ordinary residents.
“The law is applied differently to the company and government representatives than it is to ordinary people. There seems to be one set of rules for those in power and another for the common people,” Siram said.
He further alleged that nine Gaon Buras (village headmen) in Siang district had either been terminated or suspended over their opposition to the dam. He also claimed that government officials were being pressured through notices to support the project.
Farmers’ movement restricted amid security deployment
Raising concerns over the security situation, Siram claimed that more than 3,000 paramilitary personnel had been deployed across three Adi-dominated districts — East Siang, Siang and Upper Siang.
He also said that the Rapid Action Force (RAF) had been airlifted to Pasighat following the October 23 protest.
According to Siram, the security measures have affected the everyday movement of residents, particularly farmers during the ongoing harvest season.
“The region is in the middle of its harvest season, yet people’s movement is being severely restricted. Even farmers are not allowed to travel in groups to their fields, disrupting their ability to carry out essential agricultural activities,” he said.
Siram also alleged that an elderly woman aged over 60 was injured during a police lathi charge while travelling to her agricultural field.
“An elderly woman, aged over 60, was on her way to her fields when she was caught in a lathi charge. She had no involvement in or knowledge of the ongoing protests. As she attempted to escape, security personnel struck her with a stone, strangled her with her scarf, leaving her with two fractured ribs,” he alleged.
He further claimed that the woman’s mobile phone was damaged when she attempted to seek help and that she was subsequently taken into judicial custody and detained overnight despite her injuries.
According to Siram, an X-ray later confirmed two fractured ribs. He also alleged that several criminal cases had been registered against residents participating in the movement.
“In villages across Upper Siang district, particularly in the Geku area, one individual has been slapped with more than 19 FIRs, while FIRs have also been filed against many other people,” he said.
Concerns over allegations against activists
The Youth for Himalaya in a statement also raised concerns over the portrayal of individuals associated with the anti-dam movement in the media.
Bhanu Tatak, a lawyer and researcher who serves as SIFF’s legal adviser, was cited as an example of what the organisers described as attempts to discredit people questioning the proposed project.
The group alleged that reports concerning a CBI case linked to Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) compliance had been used to portray the protests as foreign-funded.
It said that the allegations in the case should be reported accurately rather than used to undermine the broader concerns raised by local communities.
The organisers also cited a report by Bengia Ajum in The Arunachal Times, which reportedly stated that NHPC, the project proponent, had spent Rs 10.9 crore on media outreach involving national media organisations and digital influencers.
‘Siang is the identity of the Adi community’
Senior journalist Tongam Rina, who could not attend the online press conference, sent a statement expressing concern over the increasing militarisation of the region.
“The government need not force the people to choose violence, but that is exactly what it wants in order to fully utilise its violent force to gain entry into their villages and the river,” Rina said.
“As an activist and reporter who has documented the people’s struggle for years, I know Siang has demonstrated that the state’s forceful militarisation will be met with resistance. Siang isn’t just a river; it is the identity of the entire indigenous Adi community,” she added.
The proposed SUMP has faced opposition from sections of Indigenous communities for nearly four decades, according to the organisers.
The Adi community, which forms the largest tribal group in the region, shares a deep cultural, spiritual and historical relationship with the Siang River, which they refer to as ‘Aane Siang’, meaning Mother Siang.
For generations, the river and its surrounding forests have sustained local livelihoods, agricultural practices, religious traditions and cultural identities.
The proposed hydropower project has consequently raised concerns over possible displacement, submergence of ancestral lands, ecological changes and the long-term impact on communities living along the river.
Call for release of arrested activists
The Youth for Himalaya and the participating community representatives called for the immediate release of all those arrested in connection with the anti-dam movement and the withdrawal of FIRs filed against protesters.
They also demanded the demilitarisation of the region and urged the government to initiate dialogue with affected communities before proceeding with decisions concerning the proposed project.
The organisers said the concerns emerging from Siang Valley should also receive attention across the Himalayan region, where large hydropower and infrastructure projects have raised questions about ecological security, displacement and Indigenous rights.
Citing the devastating floods in Nepal and the glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in Sikkim’s Teesta basin, they called for greater scrutiny of large infrastructure projects in ecologically fragile mountain regions.
The group maintained that the situation in Arunachal Pradesh was part of a wider debate over development, environmental protection and the rights of Indigenous communities to participate in decisions affecting their ancestral lands and natural resources.