Protests against the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project turned violent in Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh, on Friday night, with a police station, an NHPC office, and seven police vehicles set ablaze. Several security personnel were injured.
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Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh’s East Siang district witnessed tensions on Friday night as protesters opposing the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project set fire to the town’s police station, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) office and seven police vehicles.
A number of security personnel were severely injured in reported stone-pelting incidents, with forces resorting to tear gas to bring the crowd under control. As the gas spread, Aiko Maam, a content creator and commentator who covers news from the state, questioned who would take responsibility if anyone came to harm because of it.
The violence came hours after a three-district shutdown formally ended. Several organisations had called a bandh across Siang, East Siang and Upper Siang on Friday to protest the proposed hydroelectric project.
The shutdown was felt in many parts of the three districts, but Pasighat had largely remained unaffected through the day. The programme ended at 5 pm, yet the situation in East Siang kept simmering, and a group of protesters later moved into Pasighat and turned the town volatile.
At the Ranaghat tri-junction, a section of the agitators set several vehicles belonging to the police and other security forces on fire. Under cover of darkness, the vehicles burned fiercely. When security personnel tried to stop the crowd, protesters pelted the police line with stones in quick succession. The sustained assault left several personnel with serious injuries.
With the situation slipping out of control, police and security forces fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd and restore order. The unrest did not stop there. Protesters set the NHPC office ablaze and then torched the Pasighat police station.
Aiko Maam shared a video message amid the raging protests. Visibly distressed in the video, she said, “Right now, I am speaking as a civilian and not as a reporter. I am at Pasighat, East Siang, where armed forces fired tear gas on Gen-Z protesters, kids.” What type of response is this? If something were to happen to anyone because of the tear gas, who will take the responsibility?” she questioned.
Showing a friend on the video, she said, “My friend can’t breathe properly. My eyes are also burning, and I am having trouble breathing. How can they use tear gas against the youth? It is very dangerous.”
Notably, seven police vehicles were also burned. Conditions deteriorated further in front of the Pasighat General Hospital, and security arrangements across the town were tightened as the situation remained tense.