Guwahati: The agitation against the proposed 11,200 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) spread to Itanagar on Thursday, with hundreds of youths and students opposing the project.The protesters demanded the withdrawal of security forces from the Siang belt, unconditional release of 27 arrested youths and cancellation of the proposed pre-feasibility survey.The rally, organised by Youth For Change, Cockroach Jana Party and the Arunachal Dialogue Forum, began at Akashdeep Complex and ended at Indira Gandhi Park. Protesters raised slogans such as “Siang Bachao, Dam Hatao” and “Behne Do, Siang Ko Behne Do”.Tagori Mize, spokesperson for the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum, alleged that the govt’s approach remained contradictory, with arrests continuing even as it spoke of dialogue with the affected communities.“Twenty-seven protesters have been arrested. How can meaningful dialogue take place when the very people whose consent is being sought are being treated as offenders?” Mize said.He demanded the withdrawal of prohibitory orders, alleging that restrictions had created fear among villagers during the crucial paddy harvesting season.“People are being asked to produce identity cards even while moving around their own villages. Farmers must be able to harvest their crops without fear. They should not feel like strangers in their own homeland,” he said.The protesters accused the state govt of contradicting its assurance that no dam would be built without public consent by intensifying security deployment in the affected areas. A total of 33 companies of CAPF and police personnel are currently deployed in the Siang belt, with heavy deployment near the proposed drilling sites.Arunachal Frontier Tribal Front chairperson and youth leader Tadak Nalo described the situation in the affected areas as alarming, comparing the security deployment to a “world war situation”.“During our visit to Geku and adjoining villages, the atmosphere was frightening, with security forces deployed in large numbers,” Nalo said.He added that no development project could be imposed on indigenous communities against their will, questioning the govt’s justification that the dam was necessary to counter China’s proposed 60,000 MW hydropower project across the Line of Actual Control (LAC).The rally also saw participation from students of Rajiv Gandhi University and residents of Itanagar and nearby areas, following a social media call.Meanwhile, a protest meeting was held in Geku, where residents fear severe displacement and loss of ancestral land if the project comes up. Activist Sol Dodum from East Kameng, addressing a gathering dominated by women, said the Adi community was fighting for its land and identity.“When I reached Geku, the scale of security deployment made it feel as if the China border had shifted here,” Dodum said.He demanded the unconditional release of all 27 arrested youths and withdrawal of cases against protesters, warning the Pema Khandu govt that the movement could intensify if those arrested and detained were not released within the next four to five days.“You cannot take away the land of Scheduled Tribes against their will and expect them to remain silent,” he said.Residents of project-hit Parong village also joined the rally, demanding the release of all arrested persons, withdrawal of armed forces from Siang and Upper Siang districts and an end to what they termed govt attempts to secure public support for the dam in the name of national security. They said they would not engage in dialogue until security forces were withdrawn from the Siang belt.
