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Arunachal Pradesh: 36-hour bandh against 11,200 MW Siang dam hits normal life in Upper Siang

hellohimachalse@gmail.com 03 Nov 2026 1 day ago

New Delhi: Normal life was thrown completely out of gear in several parts of Arunachal Pradesh on Monday as a 36-hour bandh against the proposed 11,200 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) got underway. The shutdown, which began at 5 am, was called by the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum (SIFF) and the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project Affected Area Youth Association (SAAYA), backed by local student groups and community bodies.

To prevent any flare-up, the administration snapped mobile internet services across Upper Siang district starting Sunday night. Security forces remained stationed at key intersections, with officials calling the bandh illegal and closely monitoring the movement of people on the ground.

The disruption was felt the most in Upper Siang, where markets, schools, private businesses, and government offices stayed shut. Public vehicles stayed off the roads, and protesters were seen burning tyres at a few junctions to enforce the call.

Upper Siang Deputy Commissioner Ashok Tajo said the bandh was largely effective in Yingkiong town and Geku, where most government offices, schools, shops and commercial establishments remained closed. However, the impact was fairly muted in East Siang, and Siang district stayed completely normal, with SP Kamdam Sikhom confirming that offices and schools ran without any disruption.

Demands and core conflict

The stir follows an ultimatum given by SAAYA after an emergency village meeting on October 29. Protesters are demanding the unconditional release of locals picked up during earlier agitations, an immediate halt to Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) survey work, and the pull-back of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) stationed in the belt.

Local indigenous communities, especially the Adi people who revere the river as ‘Ane Siang’, fear the mega-dam will submerge around 27 villages, destroy farmlands, and wipe out ancestral heritage. They insist no ground activity can happen without their consent.

Backlash after previous clashes

Tensions had already been running high since an October 23 protest in Pasighat turned violent, where an NHPC office and a police station were torched. Following that incident, several people were booked under the Arunachal Pradesh Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, triggering fresh anger.

While the Centre and NHPC see the project as a critical counter to China’s upstream infrastructure on the Yarlung Tsangpo, locals remain unyielding. With the shutdown running till Tuesday afternoon, protest groups have warned of stepping up the stir if their demands go unheard.

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