The government insists the massive dam is about water control, not electricity. But with China looming large upstream and local communities pushing back hard, the debate around Siang is far from over. When a government official says a proposed 11,200-megawatt hydroelectric project is not really about power generation, it makes you stop and think. And … Read more
A pension scheme that got Cabinet approval and then quietly disappeared into bureaucratic limbo. That’s the reality hundreds of working journalists in Arunachal Pradesh have been living with — and on Saturday, media bodies decided enough was enough. The Arunachal Press Club (APC), the Arunachal Pradesh Union of Working Journalists (APUWJ), and several district press … Read more
The Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project has cleared a massive hurdle, and the countdown to its full 2,000-MW power delivery just got a lot more real. Something significant happened on the banks of the Subansiri River this week — and it didn’t involve any ceremony or ribbon-cutting. Workers at the 2,000-MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project quietly … Read more
Amid road blockades and simmering anger, Arunachal’s Chief Minister personally travels to one of the state’s most tense flashpoints — and makes a promise that has people both listening and wondering. Pema Khandu did not send a minister. He went himself. On Wednesday, Arunachal Pradesh’s Chief Minister arrived in Siang and Upper Siang districts — … Read more
The BJP in Arunachal Pradesh didn’t just hold a meeting on Tuesday — it held a mirror up to itself. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Arunachal Pradesh unit convened an extended State Executive Meeting at the D.K. Convention Hall in Itanagar on September 22, pulling together a who’s who of state politics under one roof. Chief … Read more
When a party calls an extended state executive meeting — not just the usual one — you know something serious is on the table. The BJP’s Arunachal Pradesh unit did exactly that on September 22, packing the D.K. Convention Hall in Itanagar with a who’s who of state politics. Chief Minister Pema Khandu was there. … Read more
The Siang Upper Multipurpose Project has long been a powder keg in Arunachal Pradesh. On Monday, Chief Minister Pema Khandu lit a match. Amid mounting resistance from indigenous communities against pre-feasibility report (PFR) activities for the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), Khandu convened a high-stakes consultative meeting in Itanagar — pulling in hundreds of … Read more
Deep inside a remote gorge in Arunachal Pradesh, where bamboo groves swallow the sunlight and rotting leaves carpet the forest floor, scientists have stumbled upon something that almost shouldn’t exist — a flowering plant that has no leaves, no chlorophyll, and essentially no business being alive by the rules of conventional botany. Meet Gastrodia keyiensis. … Read more
Arunachal Pradesh is asking the Centre for a financial package tailored to the realities of one of India’s most geographically challenging states, with Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein making the demand at a major national finance conference in New Delhi. Mein raised the issue on the opening day of the two-day conference, Financing India’s Journey … Read more
A human rights organisation has done something that rarely happens in Arunachal Pradesh’s development debates — it has openly sided with the people over the project. The Human Rights of Arunachal (HRA) on Thursday threw its weight behind the ongoing protests against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), calling on the state government to … Read more
