Siang dam bandh: Normal life hit in Upper Siang, no impact in Siang

A 36-hour bandh called against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) disrupted normal life in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Siang district on Monday, November 2, with schools, markets and business establishments closed and public buses off the roads, officials said.

The shutdown was called in Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang districts by the Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum (SIFF) and the SUMP Affected Area Youth Association (SAAYA). Its effect was uneven across the three districts, according to officials quoted by PTI.

How the three districts fared

• Upper Siang: Normal life was hit. Deputy Commissioner Ashok Tajo said many government offices and schools were closed and shops and business establishments remained shut. He said the bandh was mostly effective in the district headquarters Yingkiong and in Geku.
• East Siang: The district was affected by the shutdown, an official said, without giving details.
• Siang: Superintendent of Police Kamdam Sikhom said the bandh had no impact, with all government offices, shops and schools functioning normally.

Demonstrators burned tyres at several places during the day, and several organisations held demonstrations as part of the protest, according to the report.

What the organisers want

The two groups called the bandh over what they describe as the government's failure to meet their charter of demands. These include the release of demonstrators arrested during earlier protests, the withdrawal of security forces deployed in the project area, and the suspension of ongoing survey work for the project's pre-feasibility report (PFR).

SAAYA had earlier said the shutdown was aimed at the arrests of people who opposed what it calls forced surveys and the deployment of Central Armed Police Forces in the area, and had appealed for the protest to remain peaceful.

A long-running dispute

The 11,200 MW SUMP, planned on the Siang river, would be one of India's largest hydropower projects. The Centre regards it as strategically important because China is building a massive hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet, the river that enters India as the Siang.

Sections of the indigenous Adi community, especially in the villages likely to be affected, have opposed it. Their concerns include the submergence of ancestral villages, displacement, the loss of farmland and forests, and disruption of their traditional way of life.

The agitation has intensified over the past two weeks. A 12-hour bandh in the Siang valley on October 23 saw clashes in which several people were hurt, and protesters later vandalised offices in Pasighat. Political pressure has also grown: former Chief Minister Gegong Apang and the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee have both demanded that the project be scrapped, while a rights group has proposed a joint dialogue committee.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu has said no decision on the dam will be taken until the pre-feasibility report is ready and that the government is open to talks with those opposing it.

The bandh is scheduled to continue into Tuesday. NEInsider will update this story as more reports come in from the three districts.