Itanagar, 02 November (H.S.): Internet has

been reportedly suspended in Upper Siang as 36-hour bandh over Siang project started

on Monday,

The shutdown centres on opposition to the proposed Siang

Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), with protesters demanding the release of

people detained in connection with the agitation and a halt to pre-feasibility

report activities.

The bandh has been called by the Siang Indigenous Farmers

Forum (SIFF) and the SUMP Affected Area Youth Association (SAAYA).

The shutdown,

supported by student unions and community organisations, is being observed in

parts of Siang district and across Upper Siang, with reports also indicating

that the protest call extends to East Siang.

The organisations are demanding the release of people

detained during the agitation against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose

Project (SUMP) and suspension of the ongoing pre-feasibility report (PFR)

activities.

SAAYA called the shutdown after the state government failed

to meet its November 1 deadline for releasing protesters arrested in connection

with the October 23 violence. More than 40 people had been arrested, while

security deployment in the region has also become a major point of contention.

The proposed 11,200-MW project, being developed by the

National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), has faced sustained opposition

from sections of the Adi community over concerns about displacement, loss of

ancestral land, livelihoods and environmental impact. The project is proposed

across Siang and Upper Siang districts, with 27 villages reportedly facing

submergence, including Yingkiong, the headquarters of Upper Siang district.

The state government, however, has maintained that the

current exercise is only a preliminary feasibility assessment and does not

amount to approval for construction of the dam.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu said in September that the PFR

would help determine the project’s technical feasibility and that no further

process would be taken up if experts found it unviable. The confrontation has

continued, with resistance by villagers delaying survey and drilling work at

proposed sites.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhijit Deb