Why is Arunachal's Gen Z protesting against mega-dam?
What's the story
Arunachal Pradesh's Gen Z is protesting the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, an 11,200-MW dam. The project aims to counter China's 60,000MW hydropower expansion on the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet. The government points to water security and flood management as justifications for the dam, while indigenous communities are concerned about displacement, environmental harm, seismic hazards, and the loss of their ancestral territory and cultural heritage.
Unrest unfolds
Protests turn violent
On October 23, protests erupted in Pasighat with demands to scrap the project.
The unrest turned violent after a 12-hour bandh called by Adi Baane Kebang United and other groups.
Protesters allegedly torched an NHPC office and a police station, vandalized residences of two MLAs and the state BJP president.
Official response
What did Khandu say?
In the wake of the violence, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu offered talks on social media platform X.
He said misinformation was fueling fears about the project and stressed bridging this gap through facts and open dialogue.
The Siang Upper Multipurpose Project is still at the feasibility stage, with NHPC conducting pre-feasibility surveys and technical assessments.
Cultural fears
Indigenous communities' concerns
Indigenous communities, including the Adi people, are worried about losing their ancestral land and cultural heritage. The Siang River is central to their way of life.
The project could displace between 1 lakh and 1.5 lakh indigenous people and submerge 27 villages, according to estimates by the Siang Indigenous Farmers' Forum.
Risk factors
Seismic risks
Arunachal Pradesh is in Seismic Zone V, a high-risk earthquake zone. This adds to fears about building a large reservoir in the seismically vulnerable Himalayan region.
A study published in Sedimentary Geology and Tethyan Geology has raised questions about seismic risks due to the active Paizhen Fault beneath China's Medog project area.