Clashes between anti-dam protesters and CRPF personnel at Riga and Ugeng have pushed the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project controversy to a dangerous new edge — and the state government is now scrambling to cool things down before they spiral further out of control. The hills around the Siang valley have never been particularly quiet when … Read more
Someone, somewhere, hit a button — and suddenly, news about one of Arunachal Pradesh’s most contested projects simply vanished from social media screens across India. Journalists covering the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) started noticing something alarming over the past few days. Their videos were disappearing. Their accounts were getting flagged. People trying to … Read more
When the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh has to flee by helicopter from his own state’s district, something has gone deeply, seriously wrong. That is exactly what happened in Yingkiong on September 30, when protests over the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) turned violent — forcing Chief Minister Pema Khandu to cut short his … 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
They’ve had enough. The Adi Bane Kebang-United (ABK-U), the apex body of the Adi community in Arunachal Pradesh, has made its position crystal clear — the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) must go. Not be reviewed. Not be paused. Gone. At a press conference held at the Arunachal Press Club in Itanagar on Tuesday, … 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
The Siang River has flowed through the heart of Arunachal Pradesh for centuries — feeding farms, sustaining cultures, and binding the Adi people to their ancestral land. Now, a proposed mega-dam threatens to bury all of that under hundreds of metres of water. And the people who call this valley home are not going quietly. … Read more
A road was blocked. A traditional ritual was performed. And a message was sent — loud and clear. On September 14, residents of Ugeng village in Arunachal Pradesh came out in large numbers to physically stop vehicles from moving towards the Siang area, in what is the latest and most visible act of resistance against … Read more
When a human rights organisation tells a state government to pause and reconsider, it’s time to pay attention. The Human Rights of Arunachal, better known as HRA, has thrown its weight behind the Adi community’s growing resistance to the proposed mega hydropower projects along the Siang river belt. In a formal statement issued on Sunday, … Read more
