Guwahati: The SUMP Affected Area Youth Association (SAAYA) has announced a shutdown for Monday, November 2, in Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang districts of Arunachal Pradesh, demanding the release of people arrested during protests against the proposed 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP).
SAAYA has approached the Bogum Bokang Welfare Society (BBWS), the organisation representing the Bogum Bokang-Tuting area, for its participation in the planned agitation.
The association informed the BBWS president in a letter that the shutdown was decided at an emergency executive meeting on October 29.
Representatives from villages affected by the project attended the meeting and unanimously agreed to hold the protest alongside the Siang Indigenous Farmer Forum (SIFF), other community organisations, youth groups and local residents.
The arrests of protesters opposing the alleged forced surveys and the presence of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel in the affected areas were cited as the reasons for the shutdown.
SAAYA has accused the authorities of using the arrests to suppress the voices of indigenous communities. It has asked BBWS to join the protest and help keep the movement peaceful and democratic.
The association said its campaign sought to defend ancestral land, the Siang River and the interests of generations to come. It also described the struggle as part of a wider effort to safeguard Adi identity and customary practices.
The proposed project, planned along the Siang River, is designed to produce 11,200 MW of power and is regarded as one of India’s biggest hydropower ventures.
Opposition among sections of the indigenous Adi community has centred on the possible displacement of residents, the flooding of villages, the loss of farmland and forests, and the impact on traditional livelihoods.
Reports suggest that 27 villages may be submerged, with several dozen more likely to face other effects of the project.
The Centre also views the project in the context of China’s proposed large hydropower facility on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet. The river enters India as the Siang.
Resistance to the preliminary feasibility report (PFR) surveys intensified during September and October. Local protesters objected to the deployment of security forces for the survey work, arguing that the affected communities had not given their consent.
Protests were followed by violent incidents involving damage to vehicles and public property. Authorities responded with arrests and preventive detentions, while security personnel were deployed in greater numbers across the region.
The Upper Siang district administration imposed restrictions on public gatherings on October 11.
Various organisations have also called for those detained during the agitation to be released, security personnel to be withdrawn and survey work to be halted.
The state government has said the current assessment is intended only to examine the project’s feasibility and does not mean that it has decided to build the dam.
In August 2024, the Centre told Parliament that officials were still conducting preliminary investigations and that the project would need environmental clearances before construction could start.