Protests Turn Violent In Arunachal Pradesh As Villagers Oppose Mega Dam Power Project

Guwahati: Protests against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project involving a massive dam in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Siang district turned violent on Wednesday as agitators vandalised the residence of local MLA Alo Libang, blocked roads, clashed with police and damaged government vehicles, as the chief minister left the district headquarters, reportedly cutting short his visit.A police vehicle was set ablaze near the Dite Dime bridge, and government cars were damaged at several places, a senior district official told news agency PTI. Local reports said several government and police vehicles were set on fire. The unrest in Yingkiong, the district headquarters, is learnt to have disrupted Chief Minister Pema Khandu's schedule for an interaction with government officials and community representatives. Upper Siang Deputy Commissioner Ashok Tajo told PTI that Khandu completed his scheduled official meeting at Yingkiong before leaving the district by helicopter. Well-placed sources, however, said Khandu cut short his visit.Agitators entered local MLA Libang's residence in Yingkiong, where several ministers and MLAs were staying, and vandalised it, the senior district official told PTI. Protesters gathered outside the Grand Siang Hotel and prevented Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, Cabinet ministers Ojing Tasing and Nyato Dukam, and Ninong Ering, the chief minister's advisor, from attending Khandu's programme, PTI reported.The protesters have demanded an immediate halt to the ongoing Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) activities and survey work for the project on the river Siang. They have also sought the withdrawal of security forces deployed in areas likely to be affected, and direct consultation with affected communities before any surveys are carried out.The protesters carried placards reading "No PFR, No Survey" and "Go Back CM". They questioned the decision to hold an official interaction, and demanded a direct dialogue with the communities likely to be affected by the project.The violence came two days after villagers clashed with Central Armed Police Forces at Geku on September 28. Four people were briefly detained after that incident.Security personnel stopped a rally moving from the general ground towards the lower market, and scuffles broke out between the two sides, the official said. Protesters also blocked the Yingkiong-Komkar-Geku road and routes leading towards Dite Dime. Local reports said demonstrations also turned violent in Geku and Komkar villages.The project is proposed on the Siang, the river that rises in Tibet as the Yarlung Tsangpo. It enters India through Upper Siang and becomes the Brahmaputra in Assam. China is building a mega dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo on its side of the Line of Actual Control.The state's BJP government has maintained that the PFR activities are only a preliminary technical assessment and do not amount to approval for construction of the dam. Khandu has said the project would not be taken forward if it was found technically unviable, and that it would not be implemented against people's wishes.During Wednesday's interaction, Khandu flagged the region's twin challenge of sudden high upstream flows in rivers, and water scarcity during the dry months.(with PTI inputs from Itanagar)