SAAYA Calls Shutdown in Three Arunachal Districts Over Arrests of Siang Project Protesters

The Sump Affected Area Youth Association (SAAYA) has called for a shutdown in Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang districts of Arunachal Pradesh on November 2 to protest the arrests of people opposing the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP).

In a letter to the Bogum Bokang Welfare Society (BBWS), which represents the Bogum Bokang-Tuting area, SAAYA sought support for the shutdown and urged community organisations to maintain unity.

The association said an emergency executive meeting held on October 29, attended by representatives of affected villages, unanimously decided to organise the shutdown in coordination with the Siang Indigenous Farmer Forum (SIFF), other community-based organisations, youth groups and residents.

SAAYA alleged that the arrests were an attempt to suppress indigenous communities opposing the alleged forced surveys and deployment of central armed police forces (CAPFs) in project-affected areas. It urged BBWS to guide the movement along peaceful and democratic lines.

The proposed shutdown comes amid mounting opposition to the 11,200-MW hydropower project planned on the Siang River. Sections of the indigenous Adi community fear the project could submerge ancestral villages, displace residents, destroy agricultural land and forests, and disrupt traditional livelihoods.

According to reports, 27 villages could be submerged, while several dozen others may also be affected. Tensions escalated in September and October as residents resisted surveys for the project's preliminary feasibility report. Protesters objected to security personnel being deployed to facilitate survey activities, saying affected communities had not consented to the exercise.

The situation deteriorated following incidents of violence, including attacks on vehicles and public property. Authorities subsequently initiated arrests and preventive detentions and strengthened security deployment. On October 11, the Upper Siang district administration imposed restrictions on public gatherings.

The state government has maintained that the ongoing exercise is only a preliminary feasibility assessment and does not constitute a final decision to build the dam. The Centre informed Parliament in August 2024 that the project remained at the preliminary investigation stage and would require environmental clearances before construction.

The project also carries strategic significance for the Centre amid China's proposed hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, which enters India as the Siang.