India’s proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project is meant to counter Chinese hydropower upstream, while residents fear its 11,200-megawatt dam could submerge ancestral villages, Reuters reported.
Anadolu Agency, citing local media, reported that hundreds of additional security personnel had been sent to Arunachal Pradesh amid the protests. Anadolu attributed reports of clashes to Telegraph India; EconoTimes previously covered the protests and security deployment.
Reuters identified state-owned National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) as the project’s expected developer.
Gegong Jijong of the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum told Reuters that the proposal could fully submerge 27 ancestral villages and affect at least 40 or 50 more.
Reuters has reported that demonstrations in the Siang Valley have recurred over the past two years.
