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
When a Chief Minister has to publicly say “nothing is being forced,” you already know the situation is tense. That’s exactly where Arunachal Pradesh stands right now over the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project — a massive hydropower initiative that has split communities in the Upper Siang region right down the middle. Chief Minister Pema … Read more
Bhanu Tatak has spent years fighting to protect Arunachal’s rivers. Now, the Central Bureau of Investigation has come knocking — and the charges couldn’t be more loaded. It isn’t every day that an environmental activist ends up in the CBI’s crosshairs. But for Bhanu Tatak — lawyer, activist, and one of the most vocal voices … 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
One of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in India’s northeast just got a fresh push — and the Arunachal Pradesh government is making clear it wants no excuses for delays. Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein on Saturday met senior officials of NHPC Limited, including project executive director Narender Kumar, to take stock of the challenges … Read more
When a dam threatens your river, your village, and your way of life — you don’t sit quietly. You knock on the highest door available. That’s exactly what the East Siang Downstream District Affected People’s Forum did on August 10, when a two-member delegation walked into a meeting with Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu … Read more
A man left home for work. He never came back. That is the devastating reality facing the family of Nobin Doley, a labourer from Dhemaji district in Assam, who was killed Tuesday afternoon when a sudden landslide tore through a hydroelectric project site deep inside Arunachal Pradesh’s Kurung Kumey district. A Routine Afternoon Turned Fatal … Read more
The sky was clear. No rain, no thunder — and yet within minutes, the river turned deadly. On July 28, a worker from Jammu & Kashmir narrowly escaped death in Arunachal Pradesh’s remote Kurung Kumey district, after a sudden flash surge on the Kush River left him stranded mid-stream with no way out. The clock … 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
