Siang project: Govt open to talks, says Dy CM; Press Club backs journalist

Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein has said the state government is ready to talk to everyone who has concerns about the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), including community groups and civil society organisations.

Mein was speaking on Thursday at Palin in Kra Daadi district, at the closing function of the silver jubilee of the All Palin, Chambang, Yangte, Gangte and Tarak-Lengdi Students' Union, India Today NE reported.

'Constructive engagement'

Mein said differences over the 11,200 MW project should be settled through constructive engagement, informed discussion and mutual understanding. He stressed the need for expert consultations and public awareness, and said the government was willing to engage with all organisations and individuals concerned.

He said the state's hydropower and mineral resources had to be harnessed responsibly to create growth and opportunities. He also urged young people to look beyond government jobs towards entrepreneurship, especially in tourism, through homestays, resorts and restaurants, and to preserve indigenous languages, oral histories and manuscripts.

Press Club of India objects

On Friday the Press Club of India (PCI) said it was "shocked" that Arunachal Pradesh Police had named senior journalist Tongam Rina, deputy editor of The Arunachal Times, in requests for search warrants linked to the October 23 violence in Pasighat, Times Now reported.

The PCI called her inclusion "a serious attack on press freedom", made "without any justification or links to the violence". It condemned attempts to intimidate journalists covering the protests against the dam and said violence and damage to property could not be an excuse to harass reporters. Journalists' bodies in Arunachal had already objected to the move earlier this week.

Where the case stands

East Siang Police have said 26 people, including five juveniles, were apprehended after violence in Pasighat during a 12-hour bandh against the project on October 23, and that eight criminal cases have been registered. Those arrested include anti-dam activist and lawyer Ebo Mili and youth leader Otul Jerang. Mili has been on a hunger strike in jail, with his bail plea due to be heard on Monday.

During the violence, the office of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) in Pasighat was attacked. The bandh was called by groups opposing the project to demand the release of activists arrested during earlier protests.

The government's offer of dialogue comes after weeks of protests in Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang districts, where residents fear displacement and loss of land from the project.