Anti-dam protests: Withdraw forces from Siang belt, demands Arunachal youth body

A tribal youth body in Arunachal Pradesh has asked the government to withdraw the Central Armed Police Forces and State Police personnel deployed to allegedly quell protests against the pre-feasibility report and related surveys for a proposed mega hydropower project.

The All Adi Youth Association condemned the situation arising out of clashes between the protestors and security personnel at various places in Siang and Upper Siang districts over the past few days.

The association’s secretary, Okut Taki, told journalists in the State’s capital, Itanagar, on Tuesday (October 6, 2026) that the “militarisation” of the Siang river belt has brought law-and-order concerns for locals.

Pointing to the protests and frequent clashes, he rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)government’s claim that most families who would be affected by the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project favoured the pre-feasibility report.

The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited is pursuing the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, estimated to generate at least 11,000 MW of hydropower. The Centre and the State government insist that the project would counter the 60,000 MW Medog hydropower station that China is building on the Yarlung Tsangpo, which flows into Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang.

The Siang meets the Dibang and Lohit further downstream in Assam to form the Brahmaputra.

“The Adis have traditionally resolved disputes through customary institutions such as the Kebang. The deployment of heavy security forces is not the appropriate way to address differences over the project,” Mr. Taki said.

The All Adi Youth Association alleged that the Memoranda of Understanding the government signed with reportedly the pro pre-feasibility report villagers did not reflect the views of all 27 villages that will be affected by the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project.

“Consultations and consent-gathering exercises have been conducted selectively and, in some cases, behind closed doors and outside the villages concerned,” Mr. Taki said, demanding that the government revoke the suspension of several village chiefs for participating in protests against the project.

Anti-dam protestors say the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project would spell disaster for the Adi community and destroy swathes of forestlands and wildlife habitats.