Siang dam protests turn violent in Arunachal as chief minister offers talks
A bandh against the planned Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, which would generate 11,200 MW, ended in arson in Pasighat on Friday night, and the state government says the project is still at the pre-feasibility stage.
The Global Sun Desk ·
Protests against a proposed mega-dam on the Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh turned violent in the town of Pasighat on Friday evening, 23 October. Protesters burned an NHPC office and police vehicles, and Chief Minister Pema Khandu has since urged them to take their concerns to the negotiating table.
What happened in Pasighat
A 12-hour shutdown covering Siang, Upper Siang and parts of East Siang districts was observed on Friday between 5 am and 5 pm. It was called by four groups: the SUMP Affected Area Youth Association, the youth wing of the Siang Indigenous Farmers' Forum, the Adi Galo Welfare Society and Adi Bane Kebang United. Their demands were the release of 10 arrested activists, reinstatement of suspended village headmen (gaon buras), a halt to pre-feasibility work, and removal of paramilitary and central forces from the area.
East Siang Deputy Commissioner Jayanti Pertin said the bandh stayed peaceful in Pasighat until the evening. After 5 pm, she said, a group calling itself Gen Z insisted on continuing and blocked the highway. A magistrate ordered tear gas after about two hours of persuasion failed. Stones were then thrown, and NHPC's Pasighat office, a police station and seven police vehicles were burned or damaged. The homes of the BJP state president, Kaling Moyong, and of two MLAs, Oni Panyang and Ninong Ering, were damaged as well.
Reuters reported that stone-throwing left about 40 police personnel injured. Earlier on Friday, four women were hurt near Geku when police fired tear gas at protesters who allegedly tried to breach barricades, Outlook reported. Public gatherings have been restricted in Pasighat, Mebo and Ruksin under section 163 of the BNSS until further orders, the district magistrate told The Indian Express.
The project
The Siang Upper Multipurpose Project is planned for 11,200 MW, which Reuters describes as by far India's largest hydropower project. Business Today reports that NHPC was asked in April 2022 to prepare its pre-feasibility report, and that the project is still only being assessed; that report is not an approval to build. The Arunachal government presents the dam as a strategic answer to China's hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet, which becomes the Siang in India. They argue a large reservoir could store water and moderate sudden changes in flow downstream. China says its project will not harm downstream areas.
Some in the Adi community worry that a big reservoir would flood villages, farmland and forests, uproot families and change the river. Residents have also questioned the safety of putting up a large dam in a Himalayan region prone to earthquakes.
Talks and public relations
Khandu condemned the violence but said protest is a democratic right, and he invited opponents to "have dialogue with us" rather than turn to violence. On Sunday he met legislators and indigenous organisations in separate sessions, saying national security has to be weighed against environmental worries and the rights of local people. In a post on X he blamed "misinformation and misconceptions" for local anxiety and called for facts and open dialogue.
The Indian Express reported that NHPC hired a Mumbai-based public relations firm in July 2025 on a contract worth Rs 8.73 crore, later extended to about Rs 10.91 crore until 6 November, to build local support. NHPC sources acknowledged that opposition showed no sign of fading, and a senior official in Pasighat said one of its offices was completely gutted.