The Adi people of Arunachal Pradesh are saying no to the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, an 11,000 MW mega-dam planned by NHPC. Declared a national project in 2008, it is opposed by the Adi of the Siang, East Siang and Upper Siang regions, organised around 2012 as the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum (SIFF).
Villagers say it will affect at least 40 villages, 27 of them submerged, and take their paddy fields, orange orchards and the riverbank where their ancestors are buried.
The State wants a Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) study first. Agreements (MoUs) that SIFF says carry 600 to 1,000 signatures are shown as consent. Villagers in Yinkiong, Riyu, Riga, Geku and Karko say the signatures came by deceit, force and threats.
On October 4, 54 elderly protesters were injured in an alleged lathi charge. On October 23, a march in Pasighat was allegedly met with lathis and tear gas.
SIFF says dams on the smaller tributaries could generate at least twice the power. NHPC and BJP leaders who say the dam will come ‘at any cost’ want the Siang instead.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/arunachal-pradesh/siang-dam-and-a-threatened-homeland-in-arunachal-pradesh/article71675266.ece
