Protests against the proposed 11,200 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project turned violent in Pasighat on October 23, with an NHPC office, a police station and several government offices set on fire or damaged, according to officials quoted by Outlook India.
The dispute pits strategy against belonging. The state says the project is a response to China’s planned hydropower project upstream on the Yarlung Tsangpo, while sections of the Adi community fear displacement, loss of ancestral land and ecological damage in a seismically sensitive region.
The government says the pre-feasibility exercise is not a construction approval, and Chief Minister Pema Khandu has called for transparency and dialogue, attributing public apprehension partly to misinformation. Protesters demand the release of detained activists and the withdrawal of surveys.
Whether talks begin, and whether arrests follow the violence, will show how the standoff develops.
Protesters then allegedly pelted stones, injuring some police personnel and officials, and set fire to property, according to Outlook India.
The Pasighat office of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, the Pasighat police station and several government offices were set on fire or damaged, according to the reports.
Seven to eight police vehicles were set on fire or damaged, and the Deputy Commissioner specified that seven were burnt, according to Outlook India.
The homes of the BJP state president and two MLAs were damaged, and some property was reportedly taken away, according to Outlook India.
Eight protesters with minor injuries received first aid at a local hospital, according to the same report. The number of injured police personnel was not given.
The Deputy Commissioner said a magistrate ordered tear gas after protesters refused to disperse and that there was no baton charge, according to Outlook India.
The situation stayed tense until about 4 am on Saturday and was under control by the time of the Deputy Commissioner’s statement, according to Outlook India.
Siang river banks at Pasighat (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0