Overview
- Clashes in Pasighat turned violent during the October 23–24 shutdown when protesters set fire to an NHPC office and a police station, damaged leaders’ homes and injured security personnel and civilians.
- The Centre ordered two Rapid Action Force companies airlifted to Pasighat and raised CRPF deployments so that roughly 34 CAPF companies now police the Siang Valley region under public‑gathering restrictions.
- The protest movement spread to Upper Subansiri on October 26, where a 12‑hour bandh led to arson, attacks on NHPC equipment and the cancellation of a public hearing on the proposed 1,605‑MW Menga (Subansiri Upper) project.
- Authorities have arrested scores of people and filed multiple FIRs, two detained activists began hunger strikes in custody, and NHPC’s PR agency pulled most staff as survey work and outreach faced disruption.
- The controversy centers on an 11,200‑MW Siang pre‑feasibility survey that officials say is not final approval, with opponents citing large‑scale displacement, loss of ancestral land and seismic and ecological risks that could affect downstream water management.