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
At 72, Ninong Ering has seen rivers rise and communities drown in floodwaters more times than he can count. So when he says he supports the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, it doesn’t come across as a political statement. It sounds more like a man who’s been waiting half a century to finally say I told … Read more
Pema Khandu says the government will not push the SUMP against the people’s will. Yet roads are blocked, four villagers were detained, and security is pouring in. Something doesn’t add up. The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh says he won’t use force. But try telling that to the villagers of Geku, who spent Monday blocking … 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
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
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
