Former Chief Minister Gegong Apang has demanded immediate withdrawal of the Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) and removal of armed forces from the Siang region, seeking permanent cancellation of the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP).
In a press statement, Apang said the people’s opposition to the SUMP has entered a critical phase and alleged that the government is using force to suppress the peaceful movement.
“The Government and the BJP are spreading lies about the dam project. They are misleading people about the PFR. They are trying to say PFR will not necessarily lead to building the dam. But there is no need for the dam at all and the project should be permanently cancelled,” Apang said.
He urged the government to send back army, police and paramilitary forces from Siang and let the people live in peace.
Former Chief Minister Gegong Apang has strongly objected to the government’s handling of the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, stating that the land along Siang is the ancestral property of the Adis and no project that submerges it can be imposed, while warning that the government should not test the patience of the Adi community which does not accept unreasonable interference in its self-respect.
He termed as totally false propaganda Chief Minister Pema Khandu’s narrative that the dam is being built to protect the region from Chinese dams upstream, and condemned police action on women protesters in Yingkiong alleging that a senior citizen woman was assaulted in custody and suffered a fracture which the government is trying to hide.
Apang also condemned the arrest of four Adi leaders under preventive detention and demanded immediate posting of Adi officers in the Siang administration, immediate release of Adum Tayom, Oson Paron, Omak Paron and Okut Paloh, withdrawal of all cases against anti-dam protesters and adequate compensation to those who suffered during the agitation.