India sends more forces to Arunachal Pradesh after Siang dam protests
Hundreds of additional security personnel have been deployed after clashes over a proposed hydropower project. Villagers fear the dam would submerge ancestral communities.
India deployed hundreds of additional security personnel to Arunachal Pradesh on October 27 after protests over the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project turned violent in the northeastern state, Reuters reported. The dispute concerns a dam planned for the Siang Valley, where residents say ancestral villages could be lost if it is built.
Arunachal Pradesh police chief SD Singh Jamwal told Reuters that forces were being increased where needed. ‘We do not want any law and order problem,’ he said. DW separately reported that authorities called in reinforcements to Pasighat in anticipation of further protests, citing Indian news outlets for deployment details.
What happened during the Siang dam protests
Protests in the Siang Valley turned violent the previous week, and police made at least 21 arrests, Reuters reported. Authorities said police fired tear gas, while protesters threw stones and set fire to a police station and an office of the state-owned National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, or NHPC. DW reported that protests over the Siang project turned violent in Pasighat on October 23, when police used tear gas.
The proposed 11,200-megawatt Siang project would be developed by NHPC, according to Reuters. Sporadic protests have taken place in the valley over the past two years. Villagers opposing the plan fear it would submerge ancestral settlements of the Adi tribe.
Gegong Jijong of the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum told Reuters that opponents would continue resisting the dam until the plan was cancelled. He said 27 ancestral villages would be completely submerged if it were built, with another 40 or 50 affected. Those figures describe the opponent’s assessment of a proposed project, rather than an established construction outcome.
Why the Siang River matters to India and China
The Siang flows into Arunachal Pradesh from Tibet, where it is known as the Yarlung Zangbo. China announced plans in December 2024 for a large hydropower dam upstream, prompting concern in New Delhi about control of the river, Reuters reported. Arunachal Pradesh’s chief minister has called the Chinese project an existential threat and said the government would protect national interests while respecting the rights and aspirations of Siang Valley residents.
A separate dam dispute elsewhere in Arunachal Pradesh
DW also reported protests in Daporijo over the proposed 1,605-megawatt Upper Subansiri project, known as the Menga Dam. Student organisations called a 12-hour general strike there on October 26, seeking permanent withdrawal of that plan. It is a different project from the Siang dam at the centre of the Pasighat clashes.
In Taliha, residents opposed the Menga project and a related land assessment exercise. DW, citing the Arunachal Times, reported that protesters blocked a bridge and that demonstrations there were largely peaceful. The two disputes show opposition to separate hydropower plans across the state, although the additional deployment reported by Reuters followed the Siang clashes.
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Sources and context
- India deploys extra forces after protests over dam on Chinese border escalateReuters, republished by The Straits Times
- India news: Arunachal Pradesh faces fresh violence amid anti-dam protestsDW
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.