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2w ago

Indigenous Protests Intensify Over Siang Dam Surveys

Paramilitary-backed surveys have intensified along the Siang River in a seismic zone, prompting tribal leaders to demand project consent alongside transparent water data from China.

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This proposed mega dam over the Siang River, with an estimated capacity of more than 11,000 MW to be constructed at a height exceeding 500 metres above sea level (Photo:X/himanshu_ips)

Overview

  • The central government has accelerated pre-feasibility work on the 11,500 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project under a national-importance directive with support from Central Armed Police Forces.
  • Members of the Siang Indigenous Farmer’s Forum report that surveys and outreach activities are being carried out by force without informed consent, with village heads facing suspensions and legal action.
  • The 300-meter-high dam would submerge 27 villages and displace about 150,000 members of the Adi tribe, threatening ancestral lands and cultural heritage sites.
  • Environmental experts warn that the project risks irreversible damage to a global biodiversity hotspot, glacier lake outburst floods and dam-triggered earthquakes in seismic zone V.
  • Activists are calling for bilateral hydrological talks with China over its 60,000 MW Yarlung Tsangpo dam to secure transparent water data before the Siang project proceeds.