Normal life came to a standstill across Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district on Monday following the closure of educational institutions, commercial establishments, and local markets in response to a 36-hour bandh called by regional indigenous organizations to protest against a massive proposed hydropower dam. The total shutdown, jointly called by the Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum and the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project Affected Area Youth Association across Siang, Upper Siang, and East Siang districts, triggered demonstrations where protesters burned tires at multiple key intersections and forced public buses off the roads. While local officials reported that the bandh had a severe operational impact in Upper Siang—particularly crippling public activities in Yingkiong town and Geku—the effect remained fairly limited in East Siang, whereas business operations and government offices in Siang district continued to function normally. Agitating groups called the shutdown to press for their charter of demands, which includes the immediate release of arrested anti-dam demonstrators, the complete withdrawal of security forces deployed in project areas, and an instant suspension of ongoing Pre-Feasibility Report survey activities for the planned 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project on the Siang River. Local opposition to the mega-hydropower initiative stems from deep-seated apprehensions among indigenous Adi community members, who fear that the dam will lead to the extensive submergence of their ancestral villages, widespread demographic displacement, irreversible destruction of agricultural land and forests, and severe damage to their traditional way of life. Despite the intense local resistance, the central government considers the project to carry vital strategic significance as a counter-measure against China’s proposed massive upstream dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet.
